Hereditas
by riemayu
Summary: To Gotham, Bruce Wayne has a perfect life - wife, teenage daughter and grown son. But someone knows his secrets. After a series of 'accident's' pushing him to reveal his identity, it's a race to find out who's causing them before someone gets hurt.
1. Chapter 1

Hereditas

by Riemayu

A/N - So here is the next in the series. It takes place 15 years after the last one(and about 8 years after the last chapter of Slow Fade). Alfred is still alive(cause I say that he is...). Sure he may be getting up there in age, but if my grandma can live to 92, so can he! Anywho...David is 25, done with university and working for Bruce. Keep in mind that when I first wrote 'Thicker than Water', I had it placed shortly after TDK. So, this one takes place in the future...

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He watched and waited. The silent alarm had gone off long ago as soon as the three assailants had snuck into the museum. In the distance, Batman could hear the approaching sirens as he walked stealthily through the shadows. A loud crash echoed through the halls towards his location followed by a flurry of cursing. It was apparent that they knew that the police were on their way. They were no longer moving quietly.

"Damn it, Roger! Are you trying to wake every dead creature in this place?"

"Shut the hell up! It ain't my fault that these bags are so awkward."

Batman watched as the three men somehow managed to balance the bag across their chest and carry a gun in their hands.

"The cops will be here anytime," the tallest one said. "We gotta get out of here. I know the back way out."

They pulled their black ski masks back over their faces before quickly making their way down the dark hallway. Batman silently turned and headed down another direction. He too, knew the museum well as he had visited it enough times over the years to know his way around. He could hear the men coming up the hallway.

"What was that?!" one of the men called out. They all froze, including Batman in the shadows. After a few seconds, one of them chuckled.

"Probably a rat somewhere in the building."

The three continued on as Batman followed. He snuck up closer and closer behind the man in the rear until he quickly reached up and grabbed the man by the head, pulling him down to the ground. The other two suddenly turned, each drawing their guns towards Batman. He swiftly grabbed the gun out of the middle man's hand before using it to knock him out in the head. The last man fired a shot at Batman. At the same time, he watched a black mass fly at him before going unconscious.

Batman looked down at the three men around him before reaching for his arm where the bullet had grazed his skin. He lightly touched it, feeling the pain with the familiar pain of an injury. He sighed before stepping over the men as he heard the echos of many officers beginning to fill the building.

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"A busy night I heard," Olivia said, her voice sweetly chiming throughout the cave. Alfred and Bruce turned, hearing her arrival as the elderly man finished up with the suturing of Bruce's wound on his arm. He watched as Olivia's face turned to concern. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I thought the guy was shooting left, but he shot right," Bruce joked, with a smile. He looked up at Alfred, hoping for some sympathy against a wife who was surely not seeing the comedy in the situation. Unfortunately, he found none with his butler. Alfred was just as serious as Olivia was when he first saw the injury.

"That's not funny," Olivia said, defensively. "You could have gotten severely shot. You're getting injured more and more often now, Bruce. You're not thirty years old anymore."

"No, I am not," he said, standing up. "But what else am I to do?"

"I'm not going to tell you to quit doing this," she said. "Batman is who you are. But you need to slow down a little. You have a family, Bruce. I don't want to wake up one morning to find that you never returned home. I never want to see that reality."

Bruce walked over to her as she spoke, hearing her voice becoming increasingly agitated. He took her by the shoulders.

"I know my limits," he said. "I learned them long ago and I'm not going to start over stepping them now. You need to trust me."

Olivia sighed. "You know that I do."

He smiled and hoped that it would lighten the mood. "I love you, Olivia. I always will."

Olivia smiled, hearing the sweet words coming out of Bruce's mouth. She reached up and brushed her hand along his cheek. "Let's get you to bed, Mr. Wayne."

She looked past Bruce towards Alfred and smiled, as the older man walked with them to the lift that would bring them back up to Wayne Manor. When they arrived back in Bruce's study, Alfred turned.

"If there is nothing else, sir, I'm going to turn off the coffee pot in the kitchen and head off to bed," Alfred said.

"Goodnight Alfred," Bruce said. "Thank you."

"Anytime sir."

The pair watched Alfred disappear down the hallway towards the kitchen before they made their way up the stairs. Olivia wrapped her arm around Bruce's waist as they walked softly down the hall. Bruce glanced at the door that was left partially open. He could see the light pink and purple beads hanging from the ceiling which his teenaged daughter insisted on putting up in the room a few months prior. Allison was growing up, but she always confused him. One moment she would be pleasant to talk to and then the next, she didn't want to be seen anywhere near her parents. Olivia would reassure him that it was normal for the fourteen year old girl to be acting.

As they continued down the hall, he noticed one particular door was closed. Most nights, it was left open since it wasn't being used as much, if at all. Olivia noticed Bruce glance at it.

"David is staying the night," Olivia said softly, answering her husbands unspoken question. "He arrived around two in the morning asking if you were back yet. He heard about the robbery while he was out and was too tired to head back into the city to the penthouse."

Bruce nodded in understanding.

"It's nice to have the whole family under the same roof," he said. "It doesn't happen very often anymore."

"Bruce, David is nearly 25 years old," Olivia said as they walked into the bedroom. She closed the door behind them as Bruce walked into the bathroom. "As much as I love him, he needs to get out of the house and live on his own."

"That's why I gave him the penthouse," Bruce stated from the bathroom.

"That's just it," Olivia retorted as she climbed into bed. "You gave it to him. How is he ever going to learn responsibility if he's given everything? We paid his way through college, got him his first car and now, you gave him his own apartment."

Bruce walked back out of the bathroom and turned off the light behind him before making his way to the bed.

"David didn't have money for a car, let alone be able to pay for his college tuition with that job of his at the bakery," Bruce said, as he sat down beside Olivia. "I'm proud that he made it through college with high grades and is working at Wayne Enterprises, even if it is at a lower management position."

"So am I," Olivia said, laying down beside Bruce. She felt him turn towards her and could feel his breath against her cheek. Olivia ran her hand along Bruce's arm, touching gently over the bandaged arm.

"What are you proposing?"

"Hmm?"

"You're thinking," he said, softly.

Olivia chuckled. Bruce knew her too well.

"Charge him rent," she stated, flatly.

"Rent? For the penthouse?"

"Sure, why not? He has a job."

"Make it a reasonable price for his salary."

Bruce paused, thinking the idea over in his mind. He shook his head with a smile.

"That's a great idea," he said, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "I should have you on my board."

Olivia rolled over and looked at Bruce in his eyes, even though the room was dark.

"You can't sleep with someone who is a member of the board," she stated, jokingly.

"Too true. I'd miss you too much."

Olivia smirked before moving forward to kiss Bruce on the lips.

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The next morning.....

The fourteen year old walked softly down the hallway, eagerly anticipating her task at hand. She caught her reflection in the glass of the old painted replica portrait of her grandparents as she passed by it. Her reading glasses resting on her head reflected the light back towards the picture. Happily, she tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear before carefully turning the doorknob as softly as possible. The door let out a wail as she slowly pushed it open. The room was dark, even with the mid-morning sun shining between the thick curtains. She peeked into the room and stifled a giggle as she tiptoed into the room.

The large mound on the bed was easy to spot. She could see a set of arms resting above a head of tousled hair and hear the soft breathing. She felt along the wall until she found the light switch and then flipped it on.

The mound suddenly turned as a sheet was pulled up over his head, trying to block the bright lights that flooded his room.

"Hey! Get up you lazy butt!"

David groaned at the familiar voice and rolled over, away from the door. "Go away, Pip!"

"That's rude to say to someone who was sent to wake you."

"It's also rude to turn on the light when someone is sleeping," he mumbled.

Allison smirked as she leaned against the door frame. "Alfred asked me to get you up. He never said how."

David ran his hand through his hair. "Good god." He looked back up at Allison who was still there. "Could you please get out of my room so I can get dressed, huh?"

"This isn't your room anymore since you moved out to the penthouse," she stated. David glared at her.

She grimaced and turned to leave. "You certainly are a grump! You didn't even thank me for getting you up."

"You think that you deserve thanks for waking me up like that?"

She stopped, turned and shrugged. "Well I coulda done it with whispering sweet nothings in your ear, but I'll leave Heather to do that."

David groaned. "I told you before - Heather is my friend, when will you ever get that through your thick skull?"

Allison chuckled. "You two are always spending time together."

"She's my best friend and...." he began as he stood up, realizing that he was standing in his boxers. "I don't have to explain to you. Just get out."

"I'd hurry up if I were you cause _your friend_, Heather is waiting for you downstairs."

David quickly turned.

"She's here? Why?"

Allison shrugged. "She didn't say." She closed the door, leaving David to get dressed.

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It was quiet in the kitchen. Just as Olivia ate and Bruce sipped his coffee while they watched the television, neither was paying too close attention to the news. The young woman standing by the window caused them to make silent conversation between themselves. A smile and a raise eyebrow was exchanged between the pair as Alfred made his way back and forth from the stove to the table. He even seemed interested in the young woman's sudden appearance at Wayne Manor that morning. She was a frequent guest at the house but none of them had ever seen her so....nervous.

Bruce cleared his throat as he straightened his tie.

"So, you're here early today?"

Heather turned and smiled. "Yeah, I was trying to find David. I thought that he might have been at the penthouse but there was no answer so I came here, hoping that he stayed the night."

As she spoke, Allison walked back into the room.

"He's up now. He'll be down shortly," she announced, picking up her abandoned book off the counter and slipping her glasses back over her eyes. "I'm going back to study. Got that history exam on Monday. See you later, Heather."

Heather waved as the teenager strutted out of the room.

Bruce shifted in his chair before he looked down at his watch. "I have to meet with Mr. Fox in a half hour. I should get going." He stood up just as David rushed into the room. A playful smile crossed Bruce's face when he saw that his son was in the process of trying to tame his hair as he came into the room.

"Heather," he said, causing her to turn. "What are you doing here?"

"I got a letter," she said, the words spilling out of her mouth anxiously. "From Dent Memorial Hospital."

"That's wonderful," Olivia said, from the table. "Have you opened it?"

She smiled, looking from Olivia to Bruce, before reaching into her pocket to pull out the folded envelope.

"I haven't had the courage to do it yet," she stated, looking at the printed name of the hospital on the envelope to. "I didn't want to open it alone. Since my parents have moved to Metropolis a few months ago and Kate was busy with her boyfriends this morning, I didn't know who else to go to in case it's not good news."

"You're never going to find out if you don't open it," Bruce said, as he stood beside the counter with Alfred beside him.

Heather looked back to David and his broad smile.

"It wont be bad news," he said.

"But I got it before finals are even over with. It's too soon for them to be hiring interns. It can only mean that I was rejected."

"Just open it and find out."

She looked down at the envelope. "I suppose there is still time to apply elsewhere. I'm sure that I could get in a Metropolis General."

A hand reached out and took the envelope from her hands before she had a chance to notice. "Hey!"

"I'll open it for you."

"David!" Olivia stated, casting a glare at her son. He smirked as he held it out towards Heather.

Heather elbowed David playfully in the stomach before she grabbed the letter from his hand. She mockingly scowled at him. "You certainly will not."

Without another word, she ripped open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside before she read it, carefully word for word. She could feel her heart beating in her chest as she read, looking for the key words.

"I've been accepted," she said softly, still not believing what she saw. "I have my internship." David leaned over and smiled.

"You got in!"

"I'm going to be a doctor."

"You are a doctor," David restated.

"Not yet, I'm not," she corrected him. "I'm not even done finals yet. If that doesn't put on added pressure, I don't know what will!" She looked down at the letter.

"You'll do fine," Bruce said, from where he stood beside Olivia. "You've gotten yourself this far. How about we celebrate tonight? Dinner at my restaurant."

Heather smiled. "Thank you for the offer, Mr. Wayne, but could I get a rain-check on that? I'm really needing to study, especially now."

He nodded and grinned. "I understand. Don't study too hard." He looked down at Olivia as she sat beside him. "I'm going to head out." He leaned down and lightly kissed Olivia's lips. She let out a sigh of contentment and smiled. He turned and began to leave the room, smiling to both Heather and David as he walked out the door. Bruce paused for a moment and turned to David.

"I want to talk to you about something when I get home later this afternoon," he said, softly.

"Sure, Dad."

Bruce nodded, before walking out the door.

"Heather, would you like to stay for breakfast?" Olivia asked. Heather bit her lip, seeing Alfred at the stove as the steam floated up from the pans around him and smelled the bacon sizzling. She could hear her stomach growl at the thought that it would probably taste as good as it smelled.

"That would be great."

Olivia looked up at David as Heather sat down. She smiled at him.

"How about you, Son? Going to join us ladies?"

David smirked.

"As much as I'd like, Mom, I have an appointment for noon that I need to get ready for?"

"That wouldn't be an appointment with Miss Shawna Barber, would it?" Alfred suddenly asked from behind the counter.

Curiously, David nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Miss Barber called just a few moment before Miss Tamarack arrived this morning," he said. "She said that she would be here earlier because she has a meeting with her father at noon. I thought that Allison mentioned this to you."

David shook his head. "She only mentioned Heather being here. How much earlier will Shawna be here?""

Alfred looked up at the clock above him. "You have possibly fifteen minutes, if you're lucky."

David sighed in aggravation as he swore under his breath. "Catch you later, Heather." He quickly turned, leaving the room.

"Bye," she said softly, knowing that he wouldn't hear her. She looked back at Olivia and smiled, weakly.

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David never felt himself get changed so quickly in his life. Clothes were spread all over his bed and chair before he finally decided on a dark blue pinstripe button shirt and dark pants. He tugged at the collar. He never felt comfortable in dressy clothes, but he knew that Shawna was taking him out to a fancy restaurant so he had to dress the part. After taking one final glance in the mirror, he turned to leave the room. His feet skipped down the stairs as he finished buttoning up his cuffs before he walked towards the front door, his dress shoes echoing in the parlour. He opened the door to check if she had arrived. David was surprised to see the woman was just about to knock on the door at the same moment that he opened it.

"Good timing," Shawna commented.

"That's for sure," David agreed. "I just need to grab my jacket from the closet and I'll be ready. Come in?"

Shawna nodded and walked through the door. Her two inch heels announced her arrival into Wayne Manor as David closed the door behind her. He smiled at her, admiring her light blue blouse and black skirt beneath her cashmere coat. Her blond hair looked like silk as it curled over her shoulders.

"I'm sorry about the short notice with the time," she said.

"It wasn't a problem at all," David said, all evidence of being angry at his younger sister having vanished. He reached into the closet behind the door and searched for his brown jacket. Finally, he found it when he heard the voice of his Mom and Heather approaching.

"My Mom mentioned that she misses seeing you each week," Heather said, her voice getting louder until she appeared with Olivia beside her.

"Oh, me too. Please say hi to your parents for me next time you talk with them," Olivia said, as she walked beside Heather. The conversation stopped when they realized that they weren't alone.

Olivia smiled, acknowledging Shawna.

"David, I thought that you had left by now," Olivia stated, walking towards the door.

He shook his head. "Uh, no. Shawna just arrived."

Olivia watched as Shawna's eyes averted from her to Heather, standing beside her. Olivia raised her eyebrows at David, hoping he caught the signal to introduce them. After a beat, he did.

"Oh, Shawna Barker, I'd like to you to meet Heather Tamarack," David said, as Heather walked forward extending her hand towards the other woman. "Heather and I go way back. All the way back to junior high actually. Our families were close. Her Mom worked with my Mom for the hospital foundation and would come over once a week."

Shawna seemed surprised.

"Really?" She took Heather's hand and shook it. "It's nice to know that David has a friend that must know him so well."

"It's nice to meet you, Shawna," Heather said, smiling. "David is a great friend to have. I can always count on him."

Shawna smiled, looking up at David beside her.

"That's good to hear," she said.

Olivia watched the exchange between the women and couldn't help but smile.

"Where are you two going?" she asked.

"I'm taking David to Chez Marguerite," Shawna said excitedly. She draped her hand over David's arm and smiled. "It opened just last week."

Heather thought for a moment.

"The french restaurant?"

Shawna nodded.

"The last time I checked, David didn't like french cuisine," Heather said. "Or maybe I don't know him as well as I thought I did."

Olivia bit her lip and excused herself from the room. Heather watched as David's face reddened. Feeling uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed, Heather sighed.

"I've got to run," she said, before slipping through the door. David was stunned into silence.

Shawna looked up at David's face as he watched Heather walk out to her car.

"Is that true?"

David smiled and shook his head before putting an arm around Shawna's waist.

"No, I love French food," he said, already internally visualizing the food he would be eating shortly and felt his stomach do a flip.

---------------------------

Wayne Tower

"The contract deal with Carson Enterprises expires in three months," Fox stated. "Are you wanting to renew it with them?"

Bruce shrugged. "I'll have Mark set up an appointment with their executives to see how beneficial that would be."

Fox nodded as he jotted some notes down on the paper in front of him. He looked back up at Bruce as he looked out the window of the conference room. Fox took his glasses off his face and rested them on the table in front of him.

"It looks like Batman foiled a robbery at the museum last night," he stated casually.

Bruce nodded.

"Between you and me, Batman needs to take a vacation. He's been doing this for years. It has to be taking a toil on him....and his family"

Bruce glanced over his shoulder and smirked, meeting Fox's twinkling eyes.

"You have no idea," Bruce replied. "Allison is no longer the little girl who would run to me when I would come home from work. I just wish that these teenage years would go by faster. David was never this much of a handful at that age. Now, he's becoming my clone of twenty years ago."

Lucius chuckled. "I've noticed. He's quite a handsome young man. I'm sure you have seen a number of young ladies coming and going."

Bruce grinned. "A few. He's picky though."

"That's a good thing," Lucius replied. "You can probably imagine the pressures of being an heir to the Wayne legacy."

A knock at the door caused the conversation to suddenly stop.

"Come in," Bruce called out.

A young woman walked in, carrying a large manila envelope. "This was dropped off earlier this morning."

Bruce thanked the woman and waited for her to leave before opening the envelope. Both Lucius and Bruce couldn't believe what they were reading.

"What the hell? Who would threaten Wayne Enterprises?"

"Someone who knows a little too much," Bruce replied, darkly.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - A lot of alerts for this, but only one review... Oh well! I'm enjoying writing them. I just wished I had more time to work on it. Your kind reviews would certainly give me the verbal kick in the pants to move a little faster...:) Basically, I'm wanting to know what you all think...simple as that!

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Heather pulled into the small driveway and climbed out of the car. She could hear the music echoing from inside the two-story semi-detached home that she leased, along with her friend, Kate Watson. Heather closed the door and noticed that a few seconds later, the music stopped. She sighed, knowing that Kate heard her arrival. The rickety screen door squeaked in protest as Heather held it open before pushing the wooden door in. The screen door slammed behind her.

"Where the hell have you been? I've been worried."

Heather closed the door before turning to face Kate. The dark haired woman stood by the small kitchen table with her arms crossed. The kitchen was spotless; another piece of evidence that Kate was upset. In the two years that Heather rented the old house, she had never known Kate to immaculately clean a room unless something was bothering her. Heather decided it was best to not mention it and instead walked towards the small kitchen table and dropped her purse and keys on it, before turning to the fridge.

"In a city like this, you don't want to not answer your phone and disappear for a few hours."

"Is John still here?"

"No, he left a while ago," Kate replied, a little less hotly. "Where have you been?"

"Out and about. I can take care of myself, Kate. I grew up in this city. I just needed some time on my own."

Heather opened the fridge door and bent over to rummage through it.

"I'll say," Kate replied. "You left home nearly four hours ago. I called both Wayne Manor and David's cell. Mr. Pennyworth said you left a while ago and David's not answering his phone. I was just about to call the hospitals to see if you had been admitted!"

"Sorry," she mumbled as she took the orange juice out and closed the door behind her. She heard Kate sigh as silence filled the room. Finally, she heard Kate speak with less hostility.

"So...did you get in?"

Heather took a drink and smirked before she nodded. Kate squealed with joy as Heather handed her the acceptance letter. She read over the letter as her smile faded.

"You start a week from Monday? You haven't even taken your last exam yet!" Kate exclaimed.

"My last one is on Thursday and then I'll have a few days to relax before I start my internship."

The smile reappeared on Kate's face. "Oh, I'm so happy for you! Just imagine all the cute male nurses you'll run into all day long."

Heather smiled broadly for the first time since she returned home. "Is that all you think about? What about John?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "I'm not talking about me. I was talking about you."

Heather picked up her purse and began to walk through the living room towards the stairs to go up to her room on the second floor of their small, modest semi-detached house. Kate followed.

"You do know that Grey's Anatomy isn't real, right? I mean, interns are not sleeping with each other in the closets or making out in the hospital rooms. I'll be so busy working that I'll have no time for anything, let alone a decent social life," Heather stated.

"A girl can dream, can't she?" Kate said as she watched Heather walk into her bedroom. Kate stood at the doorway while Heather turned on her CD player beside her bed and set the volume to very low. She watched as she pulled out her textbooks from under her desk. "So, I'm guessing that a celebratory party wouldn't work today?"

Heather glanced up at Kate and winced, shaking her head. "Sorry. I really need to get studying."

Kate nodded and smiled. "I totally understand. You're a great doctor in the making!" Heather began to leave the room, but suddenly stopped and turned on her heel. "One more thing - My parents are asking for rent early this month. They're heading on vacation to Cuba in a week and I told them that you'd be able to get it before then."

"Kate! I've cut back my hours at the store so I could study!" she exclaimed. "I wont be getting my paycheck for another two weeks."

Kate shook her head. "Fine. I'll pay my folks and then you can just pay me back."

Heather sighed. "Thanks Kate."

"I'm heading into work in a half hour, so I'll see you later!" Kate waved over her shoulder as she left the room.

Heather closed the door to her bedroom, catching her reflection in the full length mirror that was nailed to the back of the door. Her pony tail was no longer doing its job. A good portion of her auburn hair was falling onto her shoulders and the bobby pin that once held her bangs out of her eyes was slipping out of its place. The one thing that she could control about herself, was a mess. The freckles that were scattered on her cheeks annoyed her. She was definitely no cover model. Heather could just imagine how twelve hour shifts at the hospital would make her look. At least she wouldn't have to be seen with her horrible retainers. Those pieces of plastic and metal had plagued her for nearly six years since she was finally out of braces. Yet she refused to stop wearing them even after her orthodontist told her that she no longer needed them. Heather had heard so many horror stories of adults having their teeth revert to their original places and she was determined that it wouldn't happen to her. So, she continued to wear them every night. If she couldn't find a guy to accept her like this, she would never find someone.

She turned away from the mirror and sat down at her desk and began to open her textbooks. After she was set, she glanced up at her cork bulletin board on the wall above her desk. It was covered with reminders and her calendar. In one corner was a picture that was always special to her. Her twentieth birthday. David and her had their faces side by side and each were making a strange face. Heather had her cheeks puffed out like a fish while David was pretending to pick his nose and stick his tongue out the side of his mouth.

Her smile faded as she thought of how she made him look like a fool in front of that woman that he was trying to impress. Heather had been mentally kicking herself while she had been driving aimlessly around Gotham and cursing her inability to speak at the wrong time and say things that seemed to fall out of her mouth before she had a chance to even think about them. David was her best friend. She knew that he would probably be angry at her for embarrassing him in front of Shawna. She had never meant to make him look like a fool. Heather thoughts went back to Wayne Manor when she saw David at the front door, talking with Shawna. He looked good, even handsome. She could admit that as his best friend.

Shawna seemed perfect. She was beautiful, an heir to a wealthy business; who wouldn't want to be in her company? And here, Heather was Gotham born and raised. Her family was a typical middle class family. She went to the typical public schools until college, had her first job at sixteen years old at the same grocery store that she still worked at and was determined to pay her way through college, although she was in debt over her head. Heather was deemed normal. Yet for David's social class, normal would never cut it.

Heather looked back at the photo as a fleeting thought crossed her mind. Jealous. She scoffed at the thought. "What's to be jealous about? He can spend his time with whomever he wants. I don't care."

Heather opened up her textbook and began to read before glancing at the phone sitting on the cradle in front of her. Finally, she grabbed it and dialed. She could hear it ringing, and ringing, and ringing. After five rings, the voice mail came on.

'Hey, you've reached David's cell! I'm busy so leave a message and I'll give you a ring later!' Heather waited for the beep.

"Hey David. It's Heather. I know that you're probably super busy right now. Um, you don't need to call me back but I was just wanting to apologize for what I said earlier. I shouldn't have said it, you know, the whole comment about you not liking French food, even though I know that you don't like it. I seriously don't know why you think you need...." Heather paused, laughing inwardly at herself and sighed. "What I wanted to say is, I'm sorry." She paused again, not certain what else to say. "So, yeah, uh, you don't need to call me back. So, I guess I'll see you later. Bye."

Heather hung up the phone, and ran her hand through her hair before looking down at the textbook in front of her again.

----------------------

David walked down the hallway, his footsteps being the only sound that could be heard. He had arrived home from his lunch with Shawna almost a half hour prior before Alfred informed him that Bruce wanted to speak with him out on the terrace. David pushed open one side of the French doors to see his Father standing on the terrace with a golf club in hand. A small bucket of balls sat a few feet away. David stood back for a moment while Bruce swung the club and hit the ball. They both watched as the ball cleared the tree line before it disappeared.

"Who's going to go searching for those balls later?"

Bruce turned and smiled, seeing his son had joined him outside. He reached over towards the bucket and grabbed a few more balls. Bruce tucked a few in his pocket and set one on the tee.

"I was going to have Allison go after them, but apparently she has a few phone calls to keep with some friends of hers," Bruce said, as he set himself up to hit the next ball. "So, Alfred picked up these biodegradable balls."

"I remember you saying something about golf being boring," David commented as he sat down on the stone step.

Bruce glanced back and grinned. "The whole polo explanation was getting a little ridiculous at my age. So, your Mother suggested golf."

David chuckled as he watched his Dad hit another ball off into the trees.

"You said that you wanted to talk to me about something."

Bruce nodded as he turned to join David.

"I was going to talk to you about the penthouse, but I need to tell you something else first and for now I want it to be kept between us," Bruce began. David could see the seriousness in his Dad's eyes and nodded. "Wayne Enterprises is being threatened. It wasn't really a threat but more of a warning."

Bruce looked at David, watching confusion cross his face. He continued.

"I received a letter today at the office from someone who knows that Wayne Enterprises has been doing work for Batman."

David's eyes widened. "But who would know that? There's only you, Mr. Fox, me, and Mom that know."

Bruce shook his head. "There is someone else. Coleman Reese. He worked on the due diligence for Wayne Enterprises when we were going to go into partnership with another company. He eventually discovered what was really going on in the R&D department. He threatened to reveal Batman's identity on national television."

"Why don't I remember that?"

"This was before I met you. You were probably six years old or so," Bruce replied, reaching beside him to pick up a file folder. "I need you to keep your eyes and ears open in the lower management. I know that Mr. Reese wasn't too impressed with me and if anyone has reason to be angry, it is him. He's had numerous threats against him because of what happened at the old Gotham Memorial Hospital. Wayne Enterprise graciously relocated Mr. Reese to another area of the city after the incident and assisted in changing his name and information. I had Lucius track down Mr. Reese and I want you to check him out. See if he's up to anything."

"Me?"

"He'd recognize myself or Lucius in an instant if we were nearby," Bruce said, handing him the folder. "You're more likely to blend in."

David looked at the information inside the file.

"He's not far from Heather's place," David commented.

"No, he's not. I want you to keep an eye on her. She is one of the closest friends of the family and would be a target for anyone who has information against us. Keep in contact with her during the day and drive by the house at night. Thankfully, George and Linda Tamarack aren't nearby and we haven't seen them in almost two years so they should be all right." Bruce smiled, hoping to lighten the conversation. "Everything will work out fine."

The French doors opened and Olivia walked out, smiling. "There are my two favourite men. What are you guys up to?"

David reached over and grabbed the golf club from Bruce's hand and stood up.

"Golf," he replied. "And discussing the perks of being a Wayne."

David chucked as he reached for a handful of balls and dropped them onto the ground.

Bruce laughed along with him as Olivia sat down beside Bruce on the stone step.

"Oh yeah? And did your Dad mention about another perk that is about to end for you. The Penthouse."

"What about it?"

"You're going to start paying rent."

David turned around, facing his parents as they sat on the step in front of him.

"Rent? There's no way in hell I'd ever be able to pay the rent for that place without dipping into a trust fund."

"It'll be within your means. You're twenty-five years old."

David lowered his head and chuckled, looking towards Bruce. "This was Mom's idea wasn't it."

Bruce nodded. "She's wanting you to learn responsibility. We both want you to."

"Respons...?" David snorted and shook his head, incredulously. Finally, he nodded his head. "Fine. I'll pay rent."

David turned and set up the ball on the golf tee. Bruce watched in amusement as his son proceeded to hit the ball out into the yard. He watched as it skidded across the grass before coming to a stop before it even hit the tree line.

"It helps if you keep your eye on the ball," Bruce suggested. He and Olivia watched as David rolled up his sleeves before he emptied his pockets and handed them his car keys, wallet and cell phone. David walked back over to the tee and placed another ball on it. Bruce laughed as he watched his son attempt to hit the ball as far as he had done, never coming close. He looked next to him when he heard a buzzing sound.

"Your phone is ringing," Olivia announced, hearing the tune.

"It's probably just Shawna wanting to schedule another lunch or dinner with me," he said. "Let it ring."

"How was lunch anyways?"

"Boring as hell!" David exclaimed as he hit the ball with as much effort as he could. This time the ball cleared the tree line. "She talked about business the entire time."

"So I'm guessing you're not taking her to Mr. Fox's retirement party in three weeks," Bruce said. David was about to swing the club once again until Bruce mentioned the party.

"Three weeks? Is that still happening?"

Bruce nodded, glancing over at Olivia and visually reminding David to keep his mouth shut in regard to what they had discussed earlier. David shrugged.

"I'll call her back later," he said, setting up his swing again. "Maybe then we can have an evening that doesn't involve conversation that is all about her."

Olivia picked up the cell phone off the step when she heard it go to the voice mail. She recognized the number as one that often called the manor.

"It's Heather," she said. David stopped mid-swing and looked up to where his Mom held was holding his cell phone. "It's not Shawna."

He rested the golf club against his shoulder and walked over to where his parents sat beside each other and took the phone. They watched casually as he listened to his voice mail and walked back towards the tee. After a few minutes, he hung up and shrugged.

"It wasn't anything important," he commented before going back to the golf ball which he was determined to finally hit after many interruptions. He took a few practice swings. Olivia leaned back on her hands, watching her son swing over and over before he would ready himself to hit the ball. He raised the club once again over his shoulder, hitting the ball clear across the yard and hitting many leaves on its way through the trees.

---------------

David walked down the hallway and smiled, hearing the sound of an old 'Ok Go' song coming from Allison's room. He began to hum to the familiar tune as he made his way towards the top of the steps when he heard the music suddenly stop and the door open followed by a rush of footsteps.

"I didn't know you were still here," she said, keeping up alongside David as he jogged down the staircase. "I thought you took off to your penthouse."

"Dad wanted me to stick around for a bit," he said plainly. "I'm heading back into the city now."

"I was hoping you were," Allison said. "I need a ride."

"To where?"

"A friend's house," she stated. "You don't know him."

"Him?"

Allison rolled her eyes. "Don't go all big brother on me now. A few friends are having a study party and if you're wanting to know, there will be parents there."

David stopped when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Did you ask Mom or Dad?"

She nodded. "Dad said it's fine, as long as I'm home by eleven."

"Fine," David said, pulling his keys out of his pocket before they went out the front door.

----------------

There was always a first time for everything.

For Allison, she wasn't sure if this was something that she even wanted to have a first time doing.

She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror at her friend, Jen's house. The vast array of bright colours on her face and in her hair made her smile. She was thankful that the cute top and skirt fit her so well. Jen appeared in the mirror behind her, a close resemblance in style, both hair and clothing.

"Are you sure we'll be able to get in?" Allison asked, looking at Jen through the mirror. "What if we get caught?"

The girl nodded. "Laura thought of everything. She even had fake ID's made up for us."

"That's what big sisters are for. I tried them once and I got in," Laura said, from the bathroom doorway as she primped her hair one last time. "I'm heading out to the car. You girls come down when you're ready."

Allison sighed, looking at her reflection. She could see her Mom's eyes looking back at her and her Dad's mouth set firmly in the way he did when he was disappointed with her. Allison always had a knack of getting into trouble when she was younger and she'd have her Dad wrapped around her finger with just a simple smile. But Allison wasn't sure about this. Her biggest fear was getting caught. She'd have to keep track of the time in order to get back, and call David in time.

Sighing, she grabbed her purse and ran for the door.

---------------

The music vibrated onto the streets. Allison smiled at Jen as they approached the doors to the club next to Laura. They watched as Laura held out her ID and was easily let through the doors. Jen followed suit and was promptly let in through the door. Allison sighed, holding the ID. The guard took it from her and tilted it from side to side before handing it back to her. She took a step towards the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hold on a sec, Hun," the guard said. "Don't I know you?"

Allison smiled and shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Sure," he said, smiling. "You're Wayne's kid. Yeah, that's right. You've gotta be, what? Fourteen at the most?"

"I think you might have me confused with someone else," Allison replied.

"I didn't get this job because of my size," the man said, his smile fading. "I'm a good judge when it comes to photographs and I'm pretty sure I'm right in this matter."

Allison sighed, walking back down the stairs. She suddenly turned. "Can I at least tell my friends that I can't come in?"

"Sorry," the man said, as he closed the door. "I'd get going home if I were you. This isn't the place for kids."

"Could I borrow a phone at least?!"

The man pushed the door open and felt his pockets before tossing her a quarter. "There's a pay-phone just down the way."

Allison turned, seeing the pay-phone ahead.

----------------

Later that evening...

David drove down the Gotham city streets in the old Chevy Impala. He was less likely to stick out while driving that car rather than his grey Ferrari 559 GTB. He slowed down as he neared the address that Bruce had given him for Coleman Reese. Slowly, he pulled over along the curb before getting a good look. There was an older style minivan sitting in the driveway and one light was on in the house. Nothing looked unusual to him. The house looked well cared for with the lawn nicely mowed and the gardens in front of the porch filled with different colours of petunias. He couldn't see more than that. After a few minutes, he decided he'd come back sometime during the day to get a better look around the property. With any luck, Coleman wouldn't be home.

David pulled out onto the residential street once again and stopped when he came to the stop sign. He looked to his left, noticing Heather's street one block away. Remembering his Dad's request, he turned towards her place. He drove slowly down the street as the road was lined with many semi-detached homes that all looked similar in style and colour. They all lacked a garage and each had a car or two sitting in the driveway. David tried to remember how far down her place was. He had visited her at the house many times, but usually it was during the day. He pulled over alongside the curb when he recognized her small blue Jetta sitting in the driveway. He saw Kate's Neon parked on the street. He looked at the clock in his car showing 11:34pm and shook his head when he saw that Heather's light was still on. He knew that she was still studying.

After a few minutes, he turned the car around and headed back towards the penthouse. He ran his hand along his neck, feeling the groggy feeling of being overtired begin to hit him as he began to enter the downtown core. David turned on some music when he came to a red traffic light just as his cell phone began to ring. Sighing, he picked it up, when he didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"David?! You have to come and get me!"

Wait a minute. He knew that voice the moment she said his name. He looked down at the clock again, making sure that he wasn't imagining the time. "Allison? What? Aren't you at home?"

"No, I'm not! I need you to come pick me up."

"I know that Dad's busy right now, but why don't you call up Mom to come and get you?"

"I'm not at Jen's house," she finally admitted. "If I told them where I was, they'd freak, especially Dad."

The admission made him worry. He sighed, keeping his temper in check.

"Allison, where are you?"

"At a pay-phone near the corner of Wilson and Raine," she said, nervously.

"That's in the downtown slums!" he exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing there?!"

He was no longer keeping his cool. She knew well enough not to go down there, especially alone and at night.

"Some of my friends thought it would be fun to see if we could get into a club," she explained, as her voice wavered. "We had fake ID but the security guy somehow recognized me and I was kicked out."

David quickly made a right turn and spun around to go back the way he came. "All right, I'm on my way. Just stay there."

He tossed his cell phone back into the passenger seat and pressed his foot onto the gas pedal. The Impala certainly couldn't cut corners as well as the Ferrari or his Dad's Lamborghini could, but he pushed the car hard. He tapped his hand against the wheel as he waited at more than one set of traffic lights.

"Come on, come on." He mumbled the mantra over and over. Once the light changed, he stepped firmly on the gas and sped ahead in time to turn onto Wilson. He looked ahead on the sidewalks for Allison as he neared Raine Street. When he saw the phone booth, he quickly pulled over and jumped out of the car.

"Allison!?"

He jogged up onto the sidewalk and looked in either direction.

"Allison!"

She was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N - Thanks for the reviews and alerts...popcorn and candy for all!

----------

A sudden scream rang out from across the street. He suddenly turned, feeling a pit grow in his stomach. Images of his little sister flashed through his mind as he ran across the street towards the sound of muffled cries. He ran down the street, listening carefully and stopped when he heard a voice very familiar to him - Allison.

"HEY! Let her go!!" he heard her boldly call out.

He turned down the side street and followed the sounds of her voice. He concentrated to keep listening but the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears was drowning out any words that he could make out. David turned and found himself suddenly bumping into a woman. She shrieked, attempting to get around him.

"Hold on, hold on," David said, softly. "Have you seen a young girl come down this way?"

The woman seemed to calm slightly.

"I'm looking for my sister, please, have you seen her?!"

The woman nodded nervously and turned to look in the direction that she just came from.

"Damn it," he muttered.

"She saved me," the woman mumbled before she continued to run. David felt sick to his stomach as he ran further down the dark driveway.

-----------------

The men chuckled as they approached the slender fourteen year old. Allison watched as the other woman ran off into the darkness. Allison backed up, realizing that coming to the woman's aid on her own probably wasn't the best idea. She quickly found herself surrounded by the three men before one of them grabbed her and pushed her against the wall.

"HEY!" David exclaimed when he saw Allison being pushed. The three men saw him coming and they all quickly pulled out the knives they had in their pocket, preparing for a fight. "Let her go!"

The men snickered to each other as one of them put his hand around her neck. "Yeah, right. You gonna make us?"

"I'd rather not," he replied, boldly.

"A smart-ass, huh?"

David didn't answer. The first man lunged at him. David twisted around, grabbing the man's arm before flipping him over his shoulder and onto the ground before the man had a chance to even use the knife he had in his hand. The man fell unconscious when he hit the pavement. David could hear the other two coming from behind and he quickly ducked before raising his fist, hitting one of them in the chin. He turned, tripping the man with his foot, causing him to fall onto his back. The man fell hard. David was impressed with himself. Everything that his Dad had taught him over the years actually worked.

"DAVID! BEHIND YOU!"

He was aware that Allison was nearby and he quickly turned at her voice, suddenly feeling the impact of someone hitting him in the chest as he did. He gasped, the air being knocked out of him before he felt his knees go weak.

"That's what you get for ruining our little party," the last man standing said, as he dropped the piece of wood to the ground. The sound echoed down the alleyway. David could hear Allison's screams for him as he leaned over on all fours, trying to breath once again. His chest ached as he gasped for a breath.

"DAVID!"

Allison watched in fear as the man approached David once again. Suddenly and without thinking, she ran towards the burly man and jumped onto his back before kicking and punching at him.

"Get the hell off of me, you little freak!" he exclaimed, as Allison tried to wrap her arm around the large man's neck. She tried to choke him, with no success.

With a loud growl, he quickly backed up and pinned Allison between his back and the brick wall. The force of the hit caused Allison to hit the wall with the back of her head and let go of the large man before falling to the ground, landing on her rear end. The large man tipped his head to the side, letting out an audible crack.

"I guess I'll have to teach you both some manners," he said, emphasizing his point with a punch into his open palm. "Problem is, who goes first."

"Touch her and I'll kill you," David exclaimed in a tone that Allison had never heard before. She was almost certain that she was hearing the voice of her father coming from David. He glared at the man as he still cradled his ribs with his arm.

The man turned, looking at David with a large smile. "You look like you'll cause me a lot of problems. I'll take care of you first."

"Touch him and I'll kill you."

The man stopped, confused at the third and unfamiliar voice. He turned and was met with a fist in his face. The man stumbled backward a few feet before catching his balance before seeing Batman standing in front of him. He quickly picked up the same piece of wood and held it over his head, preparing to defend himself. The man attempted to hit Batman with the wood, the same as he did to David. Instead, Batman caught it in his hand before ripping it from the other man's grip. Somewhat shocked, the man suddenly turned and ran off. Batman was about to go after him but stopped, turning to look back at his grown son in pain and his daughter sitting on the ground.

He went to David and held out his hand to him.

"Breath slowly," he told him. "If you take a deep breath, it'll hurt."

David took the open hand and slowly stood up, cringing at the pain that he felt along his ribs. He looked over as Allison stood up and slowly walked towards them. Batman turned to her.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded. "I think so.

"Good," he stated before grabbing her arm and proceeded to stalk down the alleyway. He ignored her complaints of him hurting her and how rough he was being. David followed behind. Batman suddenly stopped and pressed a button on his belt.

"I'm going to bring you two home," he said softly, looking over his shoulder to David. "You're in no condition to be driving as you are. We'll take care of the car later."

In the distance, they could hear the rumbling of the tumbler approaching.

---------------------

Allison sat in silent defiance as stood in front of him, arms crossed. Even minus the cowl, cape and gloves, he would still be able to elicit fear in his enemies but for a rebellious daughter, he was nothing more than her Dad. Behind him, David sat shirtless while Alfred and Olivia tended to the bruises and carefully wrapped his chest.

"What the hell were you thinking!?"

Bruce's voice echoed throughout the cave. She rolled her eyes before looking down at the ground. She bit her tongue knowing that she would regret what would come out.

"Don't you even dare to roll your eyes at me, young lady!" he exclaimed. "This is serious. You and David could have gotten killed tonight if I hadn't shown up when I did."

"You must have missed the part where David kicked the monkey man's ass!"

David looked up, hearing his sister talk back at his Dad. He winced at her words, knowing from experience that it was a bad idea and also, partly due to the pain that he was experiencing as Alfred tightly wrapped his ribs. Allison was bold and had a temper to match her Dad. If David was his carbon copy when it came to appearance, then Allison ripped a page straight from Bruce's personality handbook.

"Allison Rachel!" Olivia scolded harshly.

The tone in her Mother's voice was enough to remind her who she was talking to.

Bruce took a deep breath.

"You lied to your Mom and I about where you were going tonight and went to a club, downtown, after dark," he said, calmly. "You're smart enough to know that alone isn't safe!"

"I'm not a child anymore Dad," she snapped.

"Maybe not," he said. "But you're still my daughter. You will do what I say and I'm telling you that you are grounded for a month."

Allison opened her mouth to speak but thought the better of it and closed her mouth, and crossed her arms in defeat.

"No friends over, no television and no after school activities."

Allison's mouth opened in shock.

"What about Mr. Fox's party?!"

Bruce shrugged, knowing that Allison had been looking forward to it. "You're not going."

Allison stood up, angrily. "What?"

"Do you want to make it two months?"

Allison sighed and answered with a soft, "no sir."

Bruce nodded. "Get upstairs."

Without a further invitation, Allison turned and stalked her way towards the lift that would take her up to Wayne Manor. He could hear the sound of her muttered angry and bitter words under her breath followed by deep sighs of frustration as she walked away. Bruce sighed and looked over at his wife, who smiled weakly at him. Olivia stood up and placed a hand on his arm.

"I'll go up with her," she said softly. Bruce quietly thanked her before turning to David as Alfred continued to gingerly wrap the young man's chest with a bandage.

"How are you feeling?" Bruce asked him.

"A little better," he replied, before taking a shallow breath.

"You're going to be a little sore for a little while," Alfred commented to David, before gesturing over at Bruce. "Knowing how you're like your father when it comes to following recommendations, I suggest that you listen to what I say and rest for the next couple of days."

David grinned as he reached for the shirt beside him. He carefully pulled it over his head.

"So, you kicked some ass?"

David chuckled slightly. "I suppose. At least until I was rammed with a 2 by 4."

"You took out two grown men on your own and took the brunt of that hit," Bruce commented. "Even I wouldn't be able to withstand that without armour."

David shrugged. "I could have used some armour tonight."

"That wouldn't be the life I would want for you."

David slid off the bench which he was sitting on and walked up to Bruce as he began to peel off the pieces of armour on his chest.

"Dad, I'm 25 years old," David stated. "I know it's dangerous. You've taught me enough that I could take care of myself if need be. I don't need you to be looking over my shoulder anymore."

"I want you to make more of your life than spending your nights with the scum of Gotham," Bruce said. "This isn't your responsibility."

David sighed, knowing that it wasn't an argument that he was wanting to get further into. Bruce was already on edge after his short conversation with Allison.

"I checked out Coleman Reese," David stated, changing the subject.

"And?"

He shrugged. "Nothing unusual at the house. I'll drive by again later today, but I have a feeling that he isn't behind this, Dad. I could find out more if I had the appropriate surveillance equipment. There is a decent amount of covering in the wooded bush just behind the property as well."

Bruce nodded, pulling his shirt over top of his head.

"Good," he said. "I'll talk with Mr. Fox in the morning and discuss with him about possible ideas for this and then I'll check up on Mr. Reese myself. Take a few days off and rest up. Stay at Wayne Manor if you'd like even."

David sighed and watched as Bruce walked towards the lift. Bruce suddenly stopped when he saw David wasn't following. He smiled.

"Are you coming up?"

David shook his head. "No, you go up. I'll be up shortly."

Bruce smiled curtly as he nodded. David listened to the sound of the gears moving the lift higher and higher, until the only sound that he could hear was that of the rushing waterfall. David sighed, looking over at the Tumbler. He sat down in front of the multiple flat screen computer monitors and looked up, seeing one that was focused on the front of Heather's house. After watching for a short while, he stood up to leave the cave.

----------------

A few days later...

Heather walked down the busy downtown Gotham street, mentally quizzing herself with as much information as she could. She found herself mumbling the definitions of various procedures and health conditions and noticed that she was stared at on more than once from people passing by her. She smiled to herself knowing that she's one of the least craziest people in the city. Heather turned and opened the door to Gotham Century Towers and walked through the lobby. She waved to the security man who nodded with a smile to her after recognizing her. She walked to the private elevator and took a deep breath before she stepped in.

Heather hated elevators. Anything that was a small, confined space made her apprehensive. Ever since her cousin had locked her in an old pantry in her grandparents basement at the age of seven, Heather had been claustrophobic. Her aunt and uncle brushed it off to her parents saying it was just a childish joke, but Heather had never gotten over it. It had taken her a while to get to the point where she'd no longer have a panic attack while on a short trip up an elevator and now here she was, heading up to the top floor of Gotham Century Towers.

She took deep breaths as she stood inside the elevator and before she knew it, she had reached the penthouse level. She pressed the doorbell and waited...and waited...and waited.

She waited for another second, debating whether she should open the door herself or not. Heather looked down at her watch. She was running out of time and her original quick visit was becoming longer than she thought. David had given her the code for the door years ago and had insisted that she doesn't knock but merely come in, on more than one occasion, especially knowing about her issue with elevators. Finally, she reached over and pressed the appropriate numbers in order before she heard the door unlock. She opened the door.

----------------

David opened the door to the shower when he thought that he had heard something. Needing to listen more carefully, he turned off the water before running a hand over his face to get the water off. That time, he did hear the beeping sound of the front door. He reached for the towel and began to dry himself off as quickly as he could before pulling on a pair of shorts. He walked out of the bathroom, passed through his room before walking into the hallway. The beeping had stopped, but he was still curious. Water was now dripping off the ends of his hair as he jogged down the spiral staircase. He vigorously rubbed his head with the towel in his hand as he stepped onto the cool marble floors.

He walked past the door, when he suddenly noticed Heather sitting on the edge of the couch with her head down, writing on a piece of paper.

"Heather?"

The young woman gasped at the sound of another voice and turned, startled. She held her hand against her chest.

"Damn it, David," Heather said with a laugh. "You scared the crap out of me."

He smiled. "What are you doing here? Don't you have an exam this morning?"

"I do," she replied. "I just came to drop these off. Thanks for letting me borrow them. They really came in handy to break up the all-night studying."

Heather stood up and held out two DVD's before slipping her pen and paper back into her tote.

"You didn't have to bring them over," David said. "I could've picked them up sometime."

"If I didn't bring them, they would surely get lost in the house."

As she held out the DVD's, it was then that she realized that her best friend was standing in front of her with nothing more than a pair of shorts. She noticed his hair was wet and fell over his face slightly, making him appear more youthful than his age. That wasn't the only things she noticed. She forced her eyes to look at his face, but couldn't help but let them wander over his broad shoulders and well toned body. David seemed oblivious to her visual approval and took the DVD's. He looked back at her and noticed that her eyes were elsewhere, and she looked concerned.

"What is it?"

Heather let out a breath. "Where did you get the bruises from?"

David looked down at his chest and smiled weakly. He had completely forgotten. He shrugged. "Oh those. Football."

"Football did that?"

"I wasn't wearing pads at the time," he added.

Heather snorted.

"I guess not. I suggest that you don't do that again. Bruises don't look too good on you."

"Well, at least I'll know a doctor to come running to next time," he said with a broad smile.

She paused for a moment, realizing that her face was moments from turning a bright red.

'What the hell is going on?' she mentally thought. 'This is David in front of me. Remember, it's David.' Her mental discussion wasn't helping.

"Well, anyhow," she said, spinning on her heel and heading back towards the door. "I have an exam to write."

"And, you're going to pass it too," he continued, as he followed her towards the door.

"I wish I could get a bit of that confidence," she said, turning towards him once she reached the door.

"You'll do great," he said, as Heather stepped back into the elevator. She smiled before leaning over to close the door. Instead, David placed his hand over the door, stalling them.

"And I'm feeling so optimistic, that I want to take you out for breakfast on the morning of your first day at Dent Memorial," David said. "We'll go to that little place on the corner of Fifth and Sunset."

"You don't have to do that," Heather said with a smile, keeping her eyes on his face, yet still feeling an odd sensation in her stomach as his eyes looked at her through his wet hair.

"I want to. And it's on me," he added.

Finally, Heather nodded. "All right."

"Good luck."

David let go of the doors and let them close on themselves. He turned from the door and placed the towel on his head before looking down at the bruises on his chest and winced.

"At least I didn't say polo."

--------------------------

Three days later....

The elevator opened as a general hush swept over the multitudes of cubicles that filled the large space. Whispers of excitement as the CEO and owner of Wayne Enterprises was on their floor. Having the son of the owner as their boss wasn't as exciting as this. These were the two men that made the entire ship run - one, the engine that made it run, and the second, the good looking machinery. More than a few glances were stolen in their direction as both Mr. Fox and Mr. Wayne, the senior, walked side by side towards the younger Wayne's office. They stopped before Mr. Wayne knocked on the door. He could hear the voice of his son behind the door before he saw him through the frosted panel. David pushed open the door as he continued to talk on the phone.

"Yeah, it has to be big," he said, walking back to his desk. "Just send them to the address I gave you and send the bill to me. All right?"

He paused for a moment, glancing back at the two men. Bruce had his hands in his pocket, looking out the window while Mr. Fox took a seat in the chair across from David's desk. Lucius smiled at him.

"Yes, thank you."

David hung up the phone and apologized.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking from Mr. Fox to Bruce.

"Your father and I wanted to come down and speak with you about something that we have been discussing," Lucius began, as Bruce walked over towards them. David leaned against his desk and crossed his arms, not sure whether or not he should be worried.

"You've done a great job down here in the short time that you've run things as the manager," Bruce said. "We're wondering if you could handle more."

"Like what?"

"You know that Mr. Fox is retiring, but he has agreed to stay on unofficially until the end of the year," Bruce said. "In that time, you're going to be his shadow. I want you to learn as much about the company as you can. We both feel that you would be able to do this if you were to work alongside him from now until the end of the year and which time, I want you to take over as the CEO."

David was taken back, if not shocked.

"Me? Are you sure that you don't want to take it over? Who's going to look after things down here?"

"Business was never my strong suit. You excel in it, David. Your PR skills are incredible. And don't worry about things here. There are a few people that I have in mind to take care of it."

"We both believe that you could take care of the company," Mr. Fox added, before a small smile appeared on his face. "Besides, we'd need somebody familiar with the mechanics of the applied sciences division. We wouldn't be able to give that responsibility to just anyone."

David smiled, knowingly. "I suppose not."

"So, what do you say?"

David's smile faded as he looked down at the carpet beneath his feet. Running Wayne Enterprises was never on his agenda. He had become rather comfortable in his position. He looked back at the two men in front of them. David knew that if he was going to do this, he'd have to stick to Lucius like glue for the next six months. Finally, he nodded.

"All right."

Bruce and Lucius smiled as Mr. Fox held out his hand towards David to shake. David turned to Bruce who too, shook his hand.

"Before we break out the wine to celebrate, I'm going to need your help with something that Lucius and I have been working on."

-----------------------

That night...

The wind blew.

The tree moved.

David wasn't sure if it was because of the wind or if it was from his weight. Being perched high in a tree wasn't his idea of fun, especially at night. He was thankful for the night vision goggles that Mr. Fox had suggested when he was showing him the surveillance equipment back at the Wayne Enterprises earlier that day. Bruce had asked for him to help set up the equipment, which surprised David. He had no idea that it involved climbing a tree nearly thirty feet high. He was glad that his fear of heights disappeared many years earlier. David slowly reached down to his belt as it was full of utilities for him to get the job done. He straddled himself between two branches as he reached around the main trunk to attach a small video recording device. He turned it towards himself and smiled into it before attaching it to the tree.

_"Charming smile there, sir,"_ Alfred's voice said into his ear piece. David chuckled, momentarily forgetting that he was wired with a two-way intercom to Alfred back at the cave and to Batman, who was out on the streets somewhere, also monitoring the video. Alfred couldn't help but see the resemblance to Batman. David was dressed completely in black from head to toe, with only his eyes and mouth showing. The eyes behind the ski mask were nearly identical to Bruce's but the mouth and smile was uniquely Olivia's. _"How's the chest feeling?_"

"Not bad at all," David replied. "A little stiff, but nothing beyond that.

He adjusted the camera.

"How's the clarity and direction?" David asked softly, as he aimed it towards the rear yard of Coleman Reese's property. It was dark but the night vision on the camera would take care of that.

_"Clarity is good, but it needs to be angled more to the left."_

David turned the camera in the direction that Alfred had instructed.

_"That's better."_

_"How many more do you have?"_

This time, the voice belonged to Batman. David could hear the familiar sound of a low rumble from the tumbler engine. He slowly climbed down the tree, being careful to not catch himself on any limbs.

"One more," he replied softly before slowly moving to another tree a few hundred yards down. "I'll see if I can get this one aimed at the back door, if I can get a clear view."

He began to climb another tree.

_"Get that one up and then go home,"_ Batman said. "I'll be home later."

David nodded as he climbed before swatting at a bird who was attacking him for being close to a nest.

_"David?"_

"Yeah, I'm here. The birds aren't too happy with me nearby."

Alfred chuckled, hearing the two men talk. He watched as another monitor fizzled to life as David adjusted it to the main trunk of the tree.

"One little adjustment and I'll be glad to get out of this tree," David said, just as his cell phone began to play a tune in his pocket. He carefully reached for it, before looking down at Mr. Reese's yard to ensure that no one would've heard it.

_"Did you bring your cell phone?"_ Batman asked almost incredulously, over the earpiece.

David turned the phone over, his face lighting up in the glow of the caller ID. "It's Heather. It's after eleven."

_"Turn it off."_

"She never calls this late," David said, putting the phone to his ear. "Heather?"

_"Hi David. Sorry for calling so late. I was just getting off work at the store."_

"Uh, no problem. I was up," David said as he shifted his weight on the branch which he held onto.

_"Good. I have some good news and then some not so good news."_

"What is it?" He hoped he didn't sound too impatient.

_"I passed my exam!_" she exclaimed. _"I found out a few days ago and I've been so busy getting ready to start my internship and with working, that I hadn't had a chance to call._"

"That's great news!" David said softly. "Are we still on for breakfast tomorrow?"

_"We are. I'll be..."_ Heather continued to talk, but the voice coming from his earpiece in his other ear was louder and David couldn't concentrate on both conversations.

_"You need to hang up,"_ Batman said. _"You're risking putting her in danger if you don't. End the phone call now, David."_

David winced and bit his lip, listening once again to what Heather was saying.

_"...for a long time."_

"That's great," David said again.

There was a pause.

_"What's so great about flat tires?"_

Flat tires? What did a flat tire have to do with passing her exam?

He began to climb down the tree with one hand, as he tried to keep his voice from showing any struggle as he carefully took each step.

"Huh? I'm sorry, Heather. What were you saying?"

He heard her sigh. _"I just came out..."_

_"David, you really need to hang up,"_ Batman's voice said once again into his other ear.

David stopped on a branch and held the phone away from himself before turning his head to talk to Batman. He tried to catch his breath. "I'll take care of this. Just hold one for one minute."

He put the phone back to his ear to listen to Heather. Had she hung up?

"Heather?"

_"Are you talking to someone?"_

"No."

He heard her let out a mock laugh.

"_Look, you're obviously busy so I'll see if I can get a tow and call a cab. If you were busy with someone, you could've just told me you were busy and not try to carry on a one-sided conversation with me."_

David jumped down onto the ground.

"I'm not busy with anyone right now, Heather," David exclaimed softly. He was starting to get frustrated.

She snorted.

"D_avid, I know you well enough to know when you're lying to me_," she said._ "I'll see you tomorrow."_

Before David could say another word, she hung up the phone.

-----------------

Heather sighed, before turning to look at her small blue car, sitting on four very flat tires. She bent over and touched the rims, when she noticed that the tires had been slashed.

"Son of a..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she felt a tightness wrap around her neck followed by the feeling of warm breath tickling her ear. "Bitch."

Heather tried to swallow and think of what to do in the situation. She felt helpless as a knife was traced along her cheek. She could feel the fear rise up as her heartbeat increased.

"I'm in need of your help," the man whispered as he turned her towards the backdoor of the store. "And you're going to help me get it."

---------------

A/N - I've already have a decent part of the next chapter done...so I'm hoping it''ll be out sooner than later...

Please review!!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N - This was a little later than I had hoped, but it's longer than usual, so hopefully it makes up for my tardiness...:) Oh and one more thing to those reading. Thanks for the messages, alerts and reviews. But for clarification, I don't speak Spanish. I appreciate the messages and am thankful for translation websites otherwise I'd have no idea what these messages are saying. :) I do speak French though...and no it's not just because I'm Canadian either. LOL And for future reference, the word, 'hereditas' is latin for inheritence.

----------

As David walked back through the bush towards the motorcycle, he looked down at the cell phone in his hand as he redialed Heather's number once again. He felt awful, knowing that she was stuck with a flat tire. On the other hand, he was upset that she was accusing him of lying. He looked down at his attire, not entirely sure how he'd explain the all-black outfit nor the motorcycle if he went to go pick her up. David straddled the bike as he tried again to call Heather. With another dead end, he shoved the phone into his pocket.

"I'm going to do a quick drive by the grocery store before heading home to check on Heather," David said, as he pulled his helmet over his head. "I just want to make sure that she has help with her car."

_"I'm on my way there right now,_" Batman said, a seriousness in his tone of voice which David had learned to recognize.

"Why? What's wrong?"

_"A call went in to police,_" he told him. "_There's a fire there and a possible robbery."_

"Shit!"

David started up the bike and sped off down the road towards the store.

---------------

Heather couldn't see.

Shortly after they had taken her keys to the building, a bag had been shoved over her head and wrapped tightly around her neck with tape. She screamed the entire time, panicking as she felt like she was being suffocated. Very few words were exchanged but what she did hear, she didn't even want to repeat, let alone see happen if she talked about what happened. She felt hands carrying and half dragging her across the parking lot until she found herself being lifted up off the ground and landing hard onto a cold metal floor. Her arms were pulled up over her head and tied together and then onto some sort of railing that lined the wall behind her. She begged for the bag to be removed off her head, as she felt her ankles being tied up before the sound of a squeaky door slamming followed by the obvious sound of it being locked numerous times. As soon as it had begun, she was alone. It was eerily quiet. All she could hear was the sound of her own breathing. She would tell herself over and over to calm down and breathe slowly. Heather didn't want to breathe half of the time. The bag over her head was nauseating. It reminded her of the high school boys change room. She had gone in there once on a dare and couldn't believe the stench. This time, it was worse.

She wiggled her hands, trying to figure out where she was. Heather pulled her legs up to herself and tried to push herself up, only to fall back on her bottom again with a jolt. She could feel the tight ropes burning her wrists.

"HELP!" she yelled out as loud as she could. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

Her voice echoed in the space. She let out a shaky sigh before pounding her feet on the floor. She found it made a loud metal sound. If anyone was to hear anything outside, it would be that. She continued to kick her feet and calling for help.

----------------

The Tumbler roared through the empty back lot and swerved beside Heather's car. All four tires were flat and the windows had been broken. Batman jumped out of the Tumbler and looked up at the store. Smoke could be seen pouring out through the broken windows and a few flames licked along the roof. He ran towards the back door and kicked it open, feeling the smoke beginning to burn his throat. No one was there in the stock room. He pushed his way through the mess of fallen boxes and into the main part of the store. He clenched his teeth when he saw a nicely stacked pile of red containers, each marked with the blocked letters spelling, gasoline.

"Damn it," he mumbled as he quickly touched his temple, instantly turning his vision to search for body heat. He had to find Heather, especially since David wasn't too far behind him. He glanced around the store, as he seemed to look right through the shelves. When he didn't see anything, he wasn't sure if he was relieved or more concerned. He turned and stopped as he nearly ran into a dark figure behind him. He hadn't been home when David had gotten dressed to go put up the cameras, so it took him a moment to realize that this was his son dressed completely in black standing in front of him.

"Get out of here," he growled.

"Heather's in here!" he exclaimed, trying to get past him.

Batman put his hand out to stop him. David pushed his hand away.

"No, she isn't."

"Are you sure? Have you looked?"

"We need to get out of here. The place is ready to explode."

"And you're going to leave Heather in there?!"

"David, she isn't here," Batman repeated, his voice more assertive. "Trust me. She isn't here."

David let out a breath, calming himself down. "Okay. Then, where is she?"

"I don't know, but she isn't in here."

Batman looked over his shoulder, back into the store and noticed the fire was nearing the ominous stack of red containers. "We have to get out of here, now."

David looked into the store at what Batman was seeing and quickly turned to run back out the back door. He could feel his Dad's hand on his back, pushing him faster than his feet were moving. David pushed the back door open and literally fell out the door before he began to run across the pavement when he suddenly stopped. Batman turned to see that David was no longer beside him. He held up his hand to Batman, to quiet him as he looked back at the store. He quickly turned his head back towards Batman.

"Do you hear that?" He listened again, trying to figure out where it was coming from. He turned to one of the semi-truck trailers sitting next to the receiving bay of the store. "It's coming from over there."

A giant explosion blew out the windows and partial roof of the store. Glass, bricks and wood flew into the air. Batman ran towards David, pulling him further away from the store as the debris came down like rain. He wasn't making it easy. David watched as the tractor trailer rolled one time over, away from the building as multitudes of bricks landed on it loudly. Batman could feel the man go rigid over watching the scene unfold in front of him. A moment later, he snapped out of it as reality set back in.

"HEATHER!!" He turned to Batman. "No, let me go!"

He pulled himself out of Batman's firm grip and ran towards the trailer as debris continued to fall. He held a hand over his head as dust and smoke quickly filled the area. When he reached the doors of the trailer, he noticed the chains locked around the handle. David felt along his belt and realized that he had nothing to break the chain. Suddenly, Batman appeared beside him, using a small torch to quickly break through the chain. When one loop had broken, they quickly pulled the chain off the door and unlocked it and let one of the doors drop to the ground with a thud.

It was dark in the trailer but they could hear the sound of someone coughing.

"Who's there?! Let me go you bastards!" they heard her yell out.

David let out a breath that he didn't even realize that he was holding. He instantly recognized her voice. Batman crawled under the door and into the tipped over trailer with David behind him. He could make out the shadow of Heather hanging by her wrists from what was now the ceiling of the trailer.

"I'm going to help you," Batman said, concealing his voice, before holding a finger to his lips to remind David to keep quiet in fear that she would recognize her his voice. "Don't move."

"Could you at least take this damn bag off my head?"

"Not yet."

Batman reached up towards the ropes that wrapped around her wrists and began to burn through them. David meanwhile worked on untying her ankles. Batman tapped him on the shoulder as he was nearing the point where the rope would break with her weight. David understood and stood up, although Heather's feet were still not loose.

She let out a yelp of surprise when the rope suddenly broke and she felt herself fall. David wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her on her tied-up feet. Heather instinctively grabbed hold of his neck before quickly going for the bag on her head. He carefully and quickly placed her on the ground. Batman touched David's shoulder and turned towards the door of the trailer, gesturing him to leave. David nodded and crawled out the door. Batman quickly undid her ankles as she unwrapped the bag from around her neck.

It was still quite dark, but Heather could make out the outline of the cowl over the man's head who saved her life. She was stunned. After so many years of living in Gotham, she could finally say that she met Batman.

Multiple sirens were heard of the approaching fire and police departments.

Batman led the way out from inside the trailer and Heather followed. She could feel the dust burning her eyes and throat. Heather squinted in the darkness, trying to see ahead of her. She coughed and continued to make her way over the debris. When she made her way far enough out from the building, she looked back. The store was like a skeleton of what it was. Smoldering ashes and smoke continued to billow up from the store. She looked over her shoulder to look for Batman and found that he had disappeared. Instead, another man ran towards her as firefighters ran towards the blaze with hoses.

"I'm Commissioner Gordon. Are you all right?"

"I think so."

"Did you see who did this?" he asked, running his hand through his hair before looking back at the store.

"No. I got here after the thieves arrived."

Gordon looked down at her uniform. It was obvious by the unattractive orange and brown shirt that was wearing, that she was an employee of the store.

"Do you work here?"

She nodded. "I'm Heather Tamarack."

She explained how she had been attacked and then tossed into the tractor trailer before being found by Batman just moment before he arrived.

"And you didn't see any of them?"

Heather shook her head.

"Did they say anything?"

Heather paused for a moment, carefully choosing her words.

"Nothing more than a few words," she said. "I don't even remember much of what they said."

Gordon nodded before waving over the paramedics. "I'd like you to get checked out to make sure that you're fine."

"Of course."

"Is there anyone we can call for you? A husband or boyfriend?"

Heather smiled weakly before shaking her head. "No. I could use a ride home though."

"Oh yeah, sure. Detective Mendoza here can give you a ride once you've been given an okay from the medics. I may give you a call to get a statement at a later date. Could I get a number to get a hold of you?"

Heather quickly jotted down her number and handed it to the police commissioner before walking away with detective Mendoza. Gordon sighed before looking back at the burning building, hoping that some sort of evidence would be left in the rubble.

------------------------

"Oh my God, Heather! Where the hell have you been?"

Heather walked through the door and glared at Kate and her boyfriend, John as they sat together, reclined on the sofa. The glow of the television lit up the small living room. Heather didn't answer and instead walked past the television towards the stairs.

"Is that you that smells like a mixture of sweat and smoke?" Kate leaned back curiously and peeked out through the curtains. "And was that a police cruiser that brought you home?"

Heather began to walk up the stairs. Kate noticed that Heather hadn't said a word or answered her question and she quickly grew concerned.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Heather replied, from the top of the stairs. "I just want to go to bed."

"May I suggest a shower first?"

She answered with the sound of a door closing, loudly.

Heather leaned against the bathroom door and reached over into the shower to turn on the water. The room began to fill with steam as she pulled off her clothes and tossed them in a pile by the door. The water would only wash away the smell and dirt. She wanted the memories of the night to disappear as well. She had heard every word that man had whispered in her ear and she wished that she would forget them. The threats and the seemingly jovial excitement he had regarding the ideas of how to ruin and physically destroy the Wayne family made her nearly sick to her stomach. But the fact that he wanted her to keep it a secret upon penalty of one of the Wayne's dying was too much.

She stood in the spray of the shower, wishing that she could wake up from that horrible dream. She turned the water off and wrapped a towel around herself before walking across the hall to her room. Heather could still hear the sound of the television as well as an occasional giggle from Kate downstairs. She closed the door behind her and got dressed into her cami and shorts.

As she climbed into bed, the sounds of Gotham seemed louder that night. The night appeared darker and more ominous. Heather turned on her side and she could see the moon shining in through the window. She looked back down at the alarm clock in front of her, declaring that she had less than six hours to sleep before she had to get up for her first day of her internship.

David.

They had agreed to meet for breakfast in the morning. With her current circumstances, she wasn't really wanting to go out, let alone be able to get across town without a car. She wasn't sure what kind of conversation they would have anyways. Conversations with David were growing more uncomfortable and it was becoming more consistent that they would get into arguments.

She reached for the portable phone beside the bed and rolled over onto her back to dial. She sighed as she waited for him to answer, knowing that it was quite late. His cell phone rang numerous times before it went to the voice mail. She debated whether to leave a message as she heard his voice announcing that he was preoccupied and that he'd call back. Before she knew it, Heather had run out of time. She heard the beep and her mind instantly drew blank.

"Uh, David," she said, pinching her eyes shut, trying to think of the words to say. "I'm guessing that you're either asleep or your phone is on vibrate. Anyway, I was just calling to cancel for breakfast tomorrow...or I guess I should say for today now that it's after midnight. It looks like I'm going to be without a car for a while and it's a big day tomorrow. Besides, I don't want to start my day with another argument, so to save us both on unnecessary bickering, let's just reschedule for another time. Okay? I'll talk to you later."

Heather hung up the phone and rolled back over on her side before pulling the blankets up to her neck to fall asleep.

-------------------

"Take a shower."

They were the first words that Alfred said to David once he arrived back at Wayne Manor. David was still running on sheer adrenaline from his experience.

"I took the liberty to pull out a pair of clothes that you left here a few weeks ago, sir," Alfred said as he picked up the smoke filled clothing off the bathroom floor while David showered.

"Thanks Alfred. I'll be staying here for the night again."

"You're making it more of a habit lately."

David smirked. "The penthouse gets lonely all by myself.

"Understandable."

Alfred began to walk out of the bathroom and into David's old bedroom when he heard a cell phone begin to ring. He glanced around the room, looking for it. When his eyes landed on the phone, he picked it up and walked back to the bathroom.

"Sir, you have a call on your phone," he said.

David peeked out from the shower. "From whom?"

"Miss Tamarack," Alfred replied.

"I'll check the voice mail when I come out."

"I'm glad to know that she's all right," Alfred said.

"Me too," David admitted. "I mean, I was afraid for Allison when she was in trouble, but I knew that I could help. When I couldn't find Heather and thought that she was still inside the burning store, I was ready to do anything to get to her. My stomach flipped right along with that tractor trailer, especially knowing that she was most likely inside."

Alfred paused at the bathroom door, listening to David talk.

"She didn't even know that I was there," he added, softly. "It was so hard to not say something to her to let her know that I was there."

"You can call her back, sir," Alfred suggested. "I'm guessing that she'll need someone to talk to after her ordeal."

Alfred paused before he continued. "Master Bruce should be back shortly. I'm going to go and check to see if he's arrived."

"Thank you, Alfred."

"Anytime, sir."

Alfred closed the door just as David turned off the water. He reached out of the shower and picked up his cell phone, instantly checking his voice mail as he began to dry himself off with one hand.

He slowed down his drying off as he listened to her message, telling him that she was canceling for the morning.

He didn't even realize he was looking forward to seeing her and spending time together, until he realized that it wasn't going to happen.

----------------

Next Morning...

The Porsche stopped right along the curbside. The sight of the car in the neighbourhood was unusual. It got more than one glance as David drove down Heather's street. He stepped out of the car and pulled off his sunglasses. He tossed them onto the seat before grabbing the cup of coffee and the small paper bag off the passenger seat. David walked up to the front door and knocked. After a minute, the door finally opened.

Kate stood at the door, slightly confused. She looked tired, her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and she had her house coat wrapped around herself.

"David? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to give Heather a ride to the hospital," he said, smiling.

"Do you even realize what time it is?"

His smile faded as he looked down at his wrist watch. 07:45am. He had slept in and completely forgot what time she started at. "Damn it."

"She's already gone," Kate confirmed for him as he turned and hurriedly headed back to the Porsche.

"When did she leave?" he asked, before ducking into the car to set the cup and bag back. Kate walked onto the porch and crossed her arms, to keep herself warmer in the cool morning air.

"Nearly a half hour ago."

She watched as he took off his suit coat and tossed it into the car before picking his glasses off the seat. "If you're thinking of catching up with her, you're going to have to hope you don't get caught by the police!"

The Porsche roared to life and David smirked at her through the partially open window before speeding down the road. Kate couldn't help but smile as she watched the expensive car disappear down the road.

-------------

Heather walked up the sidewalk, heading towards Dent Memorial Hospital. She still couldn't believe it was happening. For years she had dreamed of actually starting an internship at a hospital as prestigious as this one, especially one where her parents helped on the committee for raising the funds for the hospital. She felt proud to see the golden plaque with the names of her parents engraved alongside a dozen others on the outside of the hospital.

As she walked, she heard the sound of a motor come up beside her. She waited, expecting it to pass by her. When it didn't, she looked onto the street and saw the familiar Porsche moving at the same pace as she was. She saw David's smiling face as he drove on the street.

"I brought you coffee," he announced.

Heather stopped walking and turned towards the Porsche. She leaned over the passenger side window and smiled.

"David, what are you doing here? Didn't you get my message?"

"Yeah, and instead, I've brought you coffee and a muffin."

He pulled the car beside the curb and turned it off before grabbing the coffee and muffin. He climbed out of the car and walked around it to stand in front of her on the sidewalk.

"I was wanting to make your first day memorable," he said. "And to make up for yesterday."

Heather smirked, taking the coffee. "Memorable, huh?"

David nodded as he watched her smell the coffee. "Alfred made it this morning."

She carefully took a sip. "Alfred's coffee is the best."

"It is." He looked timidly down at the muffin. "But I have to admit that Alfred didn't make the muffin though. I picked it up on my way to your house but when I found out that you had already left, I came straight here."

"I appreciate the gesture," she said, smiling as she took the muffin. "But I'm going to be late if I don't get going."

"I wouldn't want you to be late on your first day. How about I pick you up when you're done for the day? I know it doesn't make up for last night, but I'd rather drive you than know you're alone in the city."

"David," Heather began. "I grew up in this city. If I could handle last night, I can probably handle anything. Besides, Kate is going to be coming by to pick me up later. Thanks for the offer though."

"A rain-cheque then," he stated, as he walked back around to the drivers side of the Porsche. "Have a good first day."

Heather waved as the car took off down the street and she continued her walk into the hospital.

------------------

Seeing Commissioner Gordon's face inside of Wayne Tower wasn't unusual. Over the years, Bruce Wayne would offer funding for the police department regarding new firearms, protective gear and better equipped cruisers. No longer would anyone be surprised to see the man walk through the executive floor of the building.

He stopped in front of Bruce's office and knocked on the door after being greeted by his secretary. He heard the man call to him to come in. Gordon opened the door and closed it behind him. He could hear the sound of a television on with the volume set to low. Bruce stood up from his couch and walked towards Gordon with an open hand.

"Good to see you, Commissioner," Bruce said.

"You too, Mr. Wayne."

Gordon looked over at the flat-screen sitting on the table across from them and smiled. "The Blades may actually win this year."

Bruce smiled, noticing the recap of the game was being played on the news. He nodded.

"It would be the first time in how many years?"

"Ten, I think. I don't presume that you saw last nights game."

Bruce grinned as he walked towards his desk after turning the television off. Gordon followed him.

"I was busy," he said, pulling out a remote from his top drawer. He aimed it towards the glass windows that lined the front of his office. Multiple panels fell in front of the windows.

"Are you using the reception scanners as well?"

Bruce nodded and sighed once they knew that their conversation would never be seen or heard by anyone else. "Have you found anything else about last night?"

"Last night? It was just a fire."

Bruce shook his head. "I need to talk to you about the woman that was there."

"Oh, Heather....."

"Heather Tamarack," Bruce finished for him. "I know her. She's is like family to us. I've known her and her parents for nearly ten years. I believe that she knows something about that fire and for some reason she isn't telling."

Gordon crossed his arms. "You heard the conversation."

Bruce nodded. "I wasn't out of sound range when I disappeared. Her answers to you seemed a little out of character for her."

"She's a woman who went through a traumatic experience," Gordon argued. "She's more likely to be a little out of sorts."

Bruce shook his head. "Trust me. She's hiding something. I'll see if I can figure out what it is."

---------------------------

A week later

"Where the hell is he?" Bruce asked softly to Olivia as he glanced around the busy carnival and midway grounds for his son. It was the night of the annual Dent Memorial hospital fundraiser and this year it was in the form of a fair. Bruce smiled politely to the various photographers who were allowed onto the fair grounds.

"He'll be here," Olivia replied, giving Bruce's hand a squeeze. "You know your son. He's not too keen on these types of things."

Bruce sighed. "I know. But if he's going to be taking over as CEO of Wayne Enterprises, he'll need to be a little more punctual."

Olivia couldn't help but chuckle. "He sounds a lot like you."

They turned around at the sound of various clicks of cameras and flashes of lights as David's name was being called out. Finally, they saw David walk quickly towards them with a smile.

"You're late," Bruce said, keeping the smile on his face.

"Well, you know traffic wasn't the greatest."

"You're due to make a speech in fifteen minutes," Bruce said. "And I'd appreciate it if you thought of something to say."

David's smile faded. Bruce saw David's reaction and began to walk away from the media with Olivia on one side of him and David on the other.

"I thought you were the one making the speech for this," he finally said.

"Not tonight," Bruce said.

"You know how I hate giving speeches."

"That's why I didn't mention it until now. I knew you'd find a way out of coming if I told you earlier."

David sighed and looked around.

"What the hell am I supposed to say?"

Bruce put an arm around David's neck. "Thank everyone for coming, for their generosity and anything else you think of on the spot."

"You'll do great, David," Olivia added.

"Yeah? You're not the one having to stand in front of hundreds of people."

David began to walk off. Olivia was concerned. David never liked crowds as a boy and that dislike seemed to follow him into adulthood. He was comfortable with a group of twenty or so executives, but when it came to large groups that he had to speak in front of, that was an entirely different matter.

"Where are you going?"

He spun on his foot and turned. "I need some time alone if I'm going to go up there in fifteen minutes."

Olivia smiled and took Bruce's hand.

-----------------

Heather adjusted the ridiculous looking chicken hat on her head as she picked up the fallen rubber chickens inside the booth. For the past two hours, she had to remind herself that it was for charity. She waved across the aisle at the other interns who were suckered into working the booths by their resident doctors. It was beginning to feel like a high school orientation to see how much ridicule and embarrassment the new interns could handle in one day. Dozens of people, ranging from celebrities to government officials have already walked past with more than a few playing the games.

"Of all the games, this is the one you get?"

Heather stood up and turned around, seeing David standing at the counter with his hands in his pocket. She shrugged.

"It's for charity," she commented. "Besides, the chicken hat is growing on me."

David chuckled as he picked up the wooden mallet on the counter.

"How much to play?"

"Three hundred for three chances," she replied.

David nodded and reached into his pocket before handing her the money. Heather smiled and shook her head incredulously as she placed the three rubber chickens in front of him.

"You do know that you don't need to play," Heather said. "Your Dad already donated a great deal to the hospital foundation for tonight."

David shrugged. "It's for charity, right?"

Heather backed up as David placed the rubber chicken on the lever and aimed for the pot that moved in front of him. With a quick movement, he slammed the mallet onto the lever, sending the chicken flying into the air and missing the pot. He tried the second time, this time clearing the entire platform and made it fly across the booth. By now, the photographers noticed the billionaire heir playing at one of the games and saw it as a photo opportunity. A small group of them stood a few feet away as David prepared to line up his chicken for the final chance. He was about to hit the lever when he suddenly looked up at Heather.

"What do I get if I get it in?"

Heather smiled. "The satisfaction of giving to the hospital."

"That's great and all, but I need something tangible."

"You can have my hat!"

David laughed. "That's not exactly what I had in mind."

Heather watched as he rubbed his chin, a playful smirk on his face which she had grown to recognize when he was up to no good. She crossed her arms, wondering what was going through his mind. "What?"

He looked over his shoulder, ensuring that the photographers were out of ear shot of their conversation.

"If I get this chicken in that pot, you'll be my date for Mr. Fox's retirement party." He paused for a moment. "God knows that it would be boring if I went with anyone else."

Heather let out a chuckle.

"Are you serious? You know the chances of you getting that chicken in this pot is very slim."

"I'll take my chances." He paused as the smile slowly disappeared and an odd seriousness came over him. He put out his hand towards her. "Well, what do you say?"

Heather sighed, glancing out towards the media that stood a few feet behind them. She knew that they couldn't hear what he had said, but were obviously wondering what was going on as they whispered between each other. She could see Mr and Mrs Wayne approaching. Heather could feel her heart pounding as she looked back at David, as he gave her his full attention.

Finally, she grabbed a hold of his hand and shook it.

"Okay." She let go of his hand and backed up out of his way. "Good luck."

David took his time in lining up the chicken before he hit it. The chicken hit the edge of the pot and flipped onto the platform. He missed. Heather smiled sympathetically.

"Sorry."

David shrugged. "Like you said, the chances were slim that I'd get it in."

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned, seeing Bruce and Olivia standing beside him.

"It's time for your speech," Bruce said, reminding him of the time. David nodded before giving a wave to Heather. She watched as he walked away with his parents beside him. She opened her mouth for a second, not sure what to say as she watched him.

In a moment of making a quick decision, Heather climbed over the counter and slid onto the ground on the other side. Her hat nearly fell off, but she grabbed it as she jogged up behind David and put her hand on his back to get his attention. He stopped, smiling as Heather attempted to put the awkward chicken hat back on her messed up head.

"Heather? What are you doing?"

"I forgot to tell you that there are no losers at my game tonight," she said, catching her breath from her jog. "So, if you're still wanting your prize, I'd be willing to make it happen."

David smiled and shook his head.

"I lost," he reminded her. "I'm not holding you to our deal."

Heather shook her head.

"You're not."

The smile that she saw earlier reappeared on his face. "Okay. I'll pick you up on Saturday around six."

"That sounds great," Heather said, suddenly aware of the the hospital's board of directors around them. She winced with a smile to David and slowly backed up out of the crowd before walking back to her booth. As she walked, she could hear the voice of the head of the hospital board come over the PA.

----------------

David didn't hear much of what was being said. His thoughts were focused on the following weekend. He still didn't know why he asked her to be his date for the evening and why it seemed to be such a big deal to him. Heather had accompanied him to various parties on many occasions, so this wasn't something new. He glanced over at her booth from where he stood beside the raised platform and watched as other people were playing the game that he had just played.

A man walked past him and discreetly handed his Dad a closed envelope with the instructions that it was to be opened immediately. David looked over at him, questioning what was going on. Bruce shrugged and opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. After a few seconds, David watched Bruce set his jaw and glanced around the area, before he walked past Olivia and took David gently by the arm and walked with him away from the gathered crowd.

"I need you to get your mother out of here right now," he whispered. "Alfred is waiting by the car."

"What? Why? I thought I had to give a speech."

Bruce handed him the letter to read. "It seems that whoever knows about Wayne Enterprises and Batman is wanting me to give a short speech tonight, with the highlight explaining how myself and Batman are the same. If I don't, you and your Mom will be killed."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N - Thanks for the reviews, alerts and so forth...I really appreciate them. I realize that the story is going slow, but I'm not someone to jump right into it. I like to build it up....believe me...I have a lot up my sleeve for this. I'm planning on killing someone off eventually...I feel so evil! Feel free to make predictions along the way but it wont change my mind on who it'll be.

---------------

Bruce's instructions to David were clear. Leave the fairgrounds at once and he'd take care of the speech.

David watched as Bruce walked back to his Mom and whispered something in her ear. She looked at Bruce, confused yet still walked away from him towards David. She smiled at him as he turned to walk with her off the fairgrounds. They walked casually across the fair grounds towards where the VIP cars were parked. They both smiled politely to the valet as he passed David's keys to him and nodded in greeting to people as they passed by until they arrived at the Bentley. Alfred climbed out of the car, just as confused as Olivia.

"You need to tell me what's going on right now, David," she said softly, yet in a tone that would forever evict authority no matter how old David would get. "And I don't want to hear that pitiful example of an excuse your Dad gave me." He sighed, looking to Alfred.

He explained the note, the threats to Wayne Enterprises and what Bruce was about to do. Olivia paled knowing that her greatest fear was happening right then and there, and she had no idea.

"We need to get you out of here, Mrs. Wayne," Alfred suggested, after hearing David explain the situation.

"No," she replied sternly, looking at David in his eyes. "There is no way that I'm letting Bruce go through this alone. We made an agreement that his decision to do what he does is not just his. We're both in this and I'm not about to watch as he throws himself to the wolves."

David opened his mouth to protest, but he had come to know that there was no arguing with her regarding the situation. He watched as she pulled out her keys and ripped off one of them. She took David's hand and pressed the key into his hand.

"Go get your sister and go to the bunker," she said, seriously as she looked into David's eyes . "When you get there, use the key to access the computer. You need to transfer all of the trust funds and banking information to the location that Bruce has designated in the computer. All the instructions you need are there. Stay there as long as you can. They'll be looking for you."

David was overwhelmed. He couldn't believe how his life could change with one simple decision that his father was about to make, yet Bruce had already thought ahead. The plans that he created to keep his family safe.

"You need to go," Olivia said, wrapping her arms around her grown son. "Get Allison as quickly as you can."

David nodded, not trusting his voice to even speak. He looked up at Alfred, who shook his head.

"My loyalty is and will be forever to your father," he said. "I'm not leaving either." Alfred stuck out his hand towards David and was instead quickly hugged by the man who was nearly sixty years his junior before he pushed David forward towards his Lamborghini. "Go."

David looked back once more before jogging through the lot of cars until he arrived at the car. He half listened to his Dad's speech over the loud speakers as he climbed into the car, hoping that it wouldn't be the last time he'd hear his voice.

* * *

Bruce tried to lengthen an already boring speech hoping it would give Olivia and David enough time to leave the fairgrounds. He glanced down at his watch, noting how much time had gone by and figured it was probably best to finish up the speech.

"Wayne Enterprises thanks you for your generosity and support. Thank you," he said, as the crowd began to clap their hands. Bruce stepped back and took a deep breath after he finished. Never once did he mention Batman and he relaxed knowing that Olivia and David were no longer there. He turned to walk down the stairs and froze when he heard an explosion go off in the distance. Less than a second later, another explosion went off. People began to look around nervously and talked to one another, until someone exclaimed that two cars had exploded in the lot.

Bruce felt himself swallow the bile that suddenly came into his throat before he quickly made his way off the platform and turned to see two plumes of smoke rising into the night sky.

Panicked officials and dignitaries rushed towards the parking lot as the sound of fire trucks echoed in the distance. Rumours of more bombs on the fairgrounds quickly circulated as people rushed to leave.

"Bruce!"

He turned at the sound of a familiar voice calling his name. A wave of relief washed over him when he saw Olivia, and Alfred not far behind. The look on her face instantly brought that fear back.

"The Bentley exploded!"

"What was the other explosion?"

She shook as she held onto her cell phone in her hand. "I don't know. But I can't get a hold of David."

Bruce looked back toward the direction of the explosions as people quickly began to rush off the fairgrounds. He began to jog towards where a small crowd was forming. He passed more than a few people sitting on the ground while well-dressed hospital staff took care of the cuts that a lot of them sustained from the blast. It resembled a battle zone. Dozens of cars were covered in debris and dirt. It was chaotic as the uninjured scrambled to get out of the area. Bruce slowed down as he saw the charred Bentley as a few flames continued to lick at it. Glass and metal littered the ground for more than fifty feet around. He looked down at the ground as Olivia caught up with him. Bruce bent over and picked up a piece of half-burned paper.

"Oh my god," Olivia said, seeing the playing card in Bruce's hand. "It can't be. He's dead."

Bruce looked towards the source of the other explosion and his heart fell when he recognized the Lamborghini within the flames. He slowly made his way towards it when a valet suddenly stepped in front of him, his arms out.

"Sir, you must stay away from this area," the young man insisted. "It's dangerous and there may be other bombs in the area."

Bruce, almost stoically pushed the valet aside as he continued to protest.

"Sir! Sir! I must insist that you stay away from there until people more qualified to handle the situation arrive!"

Bruce suddenly stopped and turned. He glared at the valet but decided to not say anything. He looked to Olivia, seeing the tears in the corners of her eyes. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

As much as she wanted to see if David was all right, she wanted the last memory of her son to be a pleasant one. She quickly nodded as Bruce turned and walked towards the expensive car. Olivia stood with Alfred beside her, waiting as people around them rushed around, in a panicked state. Olivia looked around and saw Heather kneeling beside one of the injured as she was wrapping up an arm. The man had a large bruise on his forehead. She watched as Heather stood up and waved at the group of EMT's running from the ambulances.

She turned and looked towards where Bruce had gone and could see his sillouette as he stood by the Lamborghini.

----------

The heat from the flames intensified and as did his anger, as he got closer to the car. He had to see it for himself and until then, he wouldn't believe that his son was dead. Bruce held his hand over his mouth as the toxic fumes from the car nearly burned his throat. The doors had blown completely off, as was the glass windows. He strained to look at the drivers seat to find that it was empty. He quickly turned, hoping to find evidence of his son alive. Bruce glanced down at his feet and saw that same playing card blown up against his shoe.

-------------------

David opened his eyes, seeing nothing but darkness. He could hear the sirens and the shouts of people calling to each other but he felt like he was in a daze. He had no idea what happened. David coughed twice, feeling the dirt from the ground blow up in his face. Finally, he pushed himself up with his hands. As he pushed himself up onto his knees, dirt and debris slid off his back. He coughed once more.

"David?!"

He could hear his Dad's voice but couldn't see him. "Over here."

As though out of thin air, his Dad appeared beside him. David turned to sit down, finally seeing the mess that he had unknowingly survived.

"What happened?"

Bruce paused, staring at David as his son looked back at him with blood covering his forehead and eyebrow. Bruce reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and slapped it onto David's forehead.

"Your car exploded," Bruce explained, taking David's hand, encouraging him to hold the handkerchief onto his own forehead. "And I need to get you help before you go into shock."

"I'm fine," David stated plainly, as Bruce stood up and waved towards Olivia. As though the memories of the past few minutes suddenly came back to him, David stood up and looked towards where his car sat. Bruce turned to him, slightly surprised to see him standing.

"David, thank God you're all right," he heard his Mom say as she came up to him. "What happened? I thought you were in the car."

"I was," David said, looking back at the burned Lamborghini. "Just after I closed the door, I heard a voice coming from somewhere in the car. It seemed to be a recording. He said that because you weren't going to do what you were told, that he'd have to punish you. The doors locked and the voice began counting down from twenty. I hit the override switch for the door hinge to become unlocked and pushed it out. The last number I heard while running away was eighteen and the next thing I remember was laying in the dirt."

"Did you recognize who it was?" Alfred asked.

David shook his head. "No."

Bruce held up the Joker card. "It seems that someone knows us."

-------------------

"You know, you could have headed to emerge for this," Heather commented, as she placed another stitch into David's forehead.

"There are people out there that are needing more help than I am," he replied. "I wouldn't want to hold up the line."

Heather smiled.

David sat on the edge of the stretcher inside of the small ambulance while Heather sat directly in front of him. The back doors were open and Heather glanced out towards where David's car was in the process of being hoisted onto the back of a flatbed truck. She shook her head before turning back to the sutures beside her.

"It's amazing that you survived that with just a few stitches," she said, as she threaded the needle again.

"Yeah," David agreed, looking out the back door. He watched as his Dad stood beside Commissioner Gordon while the car was being pulled onto the truck. Alfred and his Mom had been driven home earlier. Heather reached forward and took David by the jaw and turned his head to look back at her.

"Hold still," Heather said. "I have just two more stitches to do."

David grinned. "Yes ma'am."

"And don't worry. I'll try to get them as close to your eyebrow as possible to hide the scar," she stated, leaning in to check the stitch.

David couldn't help but watch Heather's face. She had a scar herself, just above her upper lip. He had never noticed that her eyes had a few flecks green in them. Sure, he had caught himself looking at her like that before, but never at such close range. She was concentrating on closing the wound that she was oblivious to David's eyes on her.

"And I guess that I should also tell you that I've had a lot of practice with sutures this week. So, my chances of making a mess of your face is slim."

"I trust you," he said, softly.

David smiled, as Heather leaned back once again for the final suture. David shifted uncomfortably on the stretcher as Heather turned once again. She smiled before leaning in to put in the final stitch. With one hand she pulled the suture and held his head still with the other.

"Do you always sit this close to people when you're stitching them up?"

Heather stopped and looked into David's eyes before shrugging. He was watching her. "If I have to be."

She continued to finish up the suture, trying to concentrate on what she was doing. She could feel David's eyes on her and she knew that if she let her guard down, her face would redden. As it was, she was already getting quite warm in the small ambulance. She also had no idea what her proximity to David was doing to him. He could feel his heart beating out his chest and wished that he wasn't wearing both a collared shirt and his suit coat. Heather swallowed.

"Does it bother you?" she asked, softly.

"Ah, no," he replied quickly. "I was just wondering if it was what you usually do."

She nodded before quickly sitting back and began putting the instruments away.

"All done?"

Heather nodded, as David stood up, ducking his head slightly so he wouldn't hit it on the low ceiling of the ambulance. He had to get out of that ambulance.

"Thanks Heather," he said, as she stood up beside him.

"Just doing my job."

"We're still on for Mr. Fox's retirement party, right?"

"Oh yeah."

"Then it's a date then."

Slip! David couldn't believe what came out of his mouth and instantly regretted it. Years ago they had promised to each other to always be friends. Never had the word date been brought between them before. Both paused at that moment, unsure of what the other was thinking or how to continue. David smiled, sheepishly.

"That's not what I meant," David quickly added. "I was meaning it as a figure of speech than an actual date."

"Of course," Heather said with a smile. She watched as David jumped off the edge of the ambulance and onto the grass below. He turned to look up at her. "Unless, you don't mind being my date for that night."

Heather couldn't help but chuckle. "Seeing as I am going as your guest, it would kind of mean that I am your date. I'm all right with that."

David smiled. "You're right. So, you're okay with calling it a date."

"If that implies having a good time with my best friend, then, let's call it a date."

David nodded with a smile before sticking his hands into his pockets and turning on the spot to walk towards Bruce and the Commissioner were talking. Heather watched and let out a breath. It really was warm in that ambulance.

--------------

David walked past the flat bed truck and looked up at the two cars as he made his way towards Bruce and Commissioner Gordon.

"How's the head?" Gordon asked as David walked up to them. David shook the Commissioner's hand as he shrugged.

"Better than before."

"Gordon is going to have men go over the cars in the morning," Bruce said, softly. "So, you and I will need to go over them tonight."

"We?"

"I had forgotten that you went to Gotham University and had a minor in electrical engineering along with your business major," Gordon said. "There will be no one in the yard tonight between 1am and 5am. Lights are off and there are no cameras out there. If you're going to find anything on that car that could reveal any potential family secrets, you'll remove it then."

After a few more minutes with Gordon, Bruce and David turned to leave once they saw that Alfred had arrived to pick them up.

"And here I thought that you never wanted me to indulge in that part of our family's interests," David said, as he walked beside Bruce.

"I don't."

"Then what's with all these favours that I'm doing for you? I could understand the camera job on Reece's house, but this?"

"You have experience in electrical devices whereas mine is limited," Bruce said. "If there is anything on the car that does not belong to us, I believe you'll find it."

They walked up to the Rolls Royce and each stepped around to a different side. Bruce and David each opened their own door and climbed inside. Once they closed the doors, David sighed.

------------

It had to rain.

Not only was the burned smell nearly nauseating, but the wetness didn't help. At least it kept the dust and soot down, but instead made a gross paste that continued to get between David's fingers as he leaned under the car. He loosened the last few cables from beneath the car.

"Okay, you can pull it out now," he said, pushing himself out from beneath the car. He stood up, dressed once again from head to toe, completely in black and looked at Batman as he pulled the small metal box from the dash of the car. "And you think no one is going to ask questions about why a good portion of the dashboard is missing?"

Batman glanced up at him, said nothing before turning back to the car. David sighed.

"And that's the last improvement that we put in?" Batman asked.

David nodded. "From what I can see and remember."

"Did you find the remains of the bomb?"

"Yes. I took a look at it and I'm leaving it for Gordon's men. They'll need something to run an investigation on."

David nodded as Batman walked past him. David stepped back and watched as Batman walked around the car.

"Were you able to get the recorder out?"

Batman nodded, and suddenly turned as the sound of a metal door opened. The high pitch wail of the hinges echoed into the impound yard. David quickly grabbed as much as he could from around him before running towards to hide. He looked around, unable to see where Batman had disappeared to. Two flashlight beams suddenly went on and swept across the yard. David peered out from behind the old Chevrolet that he had chosen to hide behind.

"Get out of there," Batman's voice called into his ear by way of the communication device in his ear.

"Where are you?" David whispered.

"The roof."

David looked across the yard at the four storey building before looking back through the windows of the car to where the two police officers were. He'd have to run.

The police officers were confused. They were certain that they had seen movement in the impound yard. Either than the sound of the rain hitting the car roofs, and the occasional hisses of the resident cats, they heard nothing. One of them suddenly turned, his gun out in front of him. Before he even had a chance to react or see anything either than black in front of him, his gun was out of his hand and on the ground. The officer backed up, instantly confused and afraid. He didn't even see who was in front of him. He looked over his shoulder to where his partner was.

"Hey! Over here!"

David ran after disarming the police officer, praying that it would buy him enough time to get across the yard without being shot at. As he ran, he pulled out the magnetic grapple gun off his hip.

"Stop!!"

He could hear the footsteps of the officers as they splashed through puddles. Finally, he stopped running and quickly aimed the gun towards the sky before firing it. David heard the sound of it hitting metal before activating it. He held on tight as he was quickly pulled to the roof. The two officers stopped at the bottom of the building and looked up.

"That wasn't Batman, was it?"

"He sure did move like him."

* * *

Next day...

Allison ran down the stairs, as she pulled her uniform vest over her blouse. She carried her coat in one hand and her backpack in the other. She was moving so fast that she looked up just in time to see her Mom and Dad walking up the stairs towards her.

"Whoa!" Bruce said, reaching out to ensure that Allison wouldn't fall from their near collision. "What's the rush?"

"David is driving me to school today," she replied, making her way around them and towards the door.

"You had David come all the way out here just to bring you back into the city for school? Your Mom or I could have driven you or Alfred even."

Allison smiled weakly, turning at the door. "No offence, Dad, but I'd rather have David drive me."

Bruce stood confused while Olivia just smiled. She waved to Allison who smiled back before running out the door to David waiting in the Audi. She quickly opened the door and climbed in.

"Thanks for the ride," Allison said, pulling on her seat belt.

"No problem, Pip," David said, putting the car into gear and began the drive down the driveway towards the road. "But I'm a little confused why you were so insistent on me driving you when you called the penthouse this morning."

Allison sat back in the passenger seat and shrugged. "Can't a girl spend some time with her favourite big brother?"

David narrowed his eyes. "I'm your only brother. Spill it."

Allison let out a mock laugh. "There's nothing to spill. I was just tired of being driven by Mom, Dad or Alfred. I love them, but I'd rather be driven by someone cooler."

It was David's turn to laugh.

"I'm glad to know that even at 25 I'm considered cool by a 14 year old. You're flattering me, aren't you?"

Allison's smile faded and she sighed.

"All right," she said. "I thought that you'd understand more than the others."

"Understand what?"

"I have a boyfriend." She paused for a moment, watching the smile grow on David's face. "And I don't want Mom or Dad to know about him."

David's smiled broadly. "Then I'm going to have to meet this young man and remind him of the other men in your life."

"You aren't coming near him and I know that Dad would freak if he knew about this."

"Dad is overprotective of you, but I have to agree with most of his reasoning. You're only fourteen."

Allison rolled her eyes. "You're becoming more like Dad all the time, you know that right?"

The sound of a cell phone echoed from Allison's backpack that was sitting on the floor in front of her. She reached forward and dug through her bag. David glanced over at her and his eyes widened.

"Is that a tattoo!?"

Allison suddenly sat up, the cell phone quickly forgotten. She reached behind her back. She had forgotten to tuck in her blouse and it had ridden up on her lower back when she bent over to get the phone.

She shrugged coolly. "So what?"

"So what?! Allison, you do know that you're technically dead if Mom or Dad ever finds out about that!"

"Please don't tell them," she begged.

David let out an audible sigh as he shook his head while he drove down the Gotham streets. "If anyone is making me more like Dad, it's you and your rebellious ways."

"Rebellious? I guess you've forgotten those stories about you when you were my age. It's just a tattoo, David. Hell, you even have one!"

"For one thing, you're fourteen and you either lied about your age or forged Mom or Dad's signature. Secondly, I was eighteen years old and I did it for a girl and now I wish I hadn't. It's a horrible way to mark up your body."

Allison scoffed, turned and looked out the window, watching the cityscape pass by them as they drove. She shook her head.

"I don't understand what the big deal is. You have a tattoo. A lot of people have them."

"Really? Name one person, besides me that has one."

Allison paused for a moment as she thought and shrugged. "Well, Heather has two."

David quickly put his foot on the break as he saw the light in front of him turn red. He glanced over at Allison, before keeping his eyes on the traffic around him.

"She does?"

Allison nodded. "She has one on her lower back like mine. It's a small butterfly, I think. And the second one is right below her bra strap, right about..." He glanced over at Allison as she tried to remember the exact location of the tattoo. He shook his head.

"Uh, uh, I don't want to hear about where it is," he quickly interrupted. Allison chuckled before looking at the street ahead of them.

"She told me that she got the first one when she was sixteen and the second during her first year of university."

"Why don't I remember that?"

Allison smiled. "Probably because she didn't tell you cause she knew you'd freak out like this." She sighed, looking ahead before turning to David. "The light is green, you know."

David looked up, and put his foot on the gas. The rest of their trip was driven in silence. Allison looked out the window. David couldn't wrap his mind around discovering something new about Heather. He thought he knew everything there was to know about his best friend. It was true that the did grow apart slightly after high school when David went into engineering while Heather concentrated on the sciences. David would no longer spend his weekends with Heather at the manor or spending time biking on the trails around Wayne Manor. He would be busy spending his time with various women who were on his social agenda while Heather would have her nose in the books, desperate to succeed to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor. David had to remind himself that Heather wasn't the only one with secrets.

"Pull over up here," Allison told him. "Brandon said he'd meet me up here and then we'd walk to school from here."

"Brandon?"

Allison rolled her eyes. "My boyfriend."

Her eyes lit up and she smiled when she saw a tall, gawky sixteen year old with dark hair walking towards the car. "There he is."

Allison pushed the door open and grabbed her bag. She quickly slammed the door before David would be able to say anything more. Instead, he smirked and rolled down the passenger side window.

"Hey Pip!!"

Allison didn't reply and continued to walk, hand in hand with her boyfriend. David let out an aggravated sigh before opening his car door. He stood up and looked over the roof of the car.

"Allison Wayne!"

She suddenly turned on her heel. "What?!"

"You're still grounded. How are you getting home tonight?"

"Alfred will be here at three," she replied plainly before turning to walk towards the school. He watched in utter disgust as the guy beside his baby sister wrapped his arm around her waist, resting his hand on her hip.

"Hey Brandon!" David suddenly called out.

The kid looked over his shoulder back towards David.

"My Dad isn't the only one that you have to be concerned about," he called out, a smile on his face. He pointed towards Brandon. "I'm watching you."

Allison rolled her eyes, pulling Brandon along the sidewalk faster. "Don't worry about him," David heard her say to Brandon. "He's just trying to annoy me."

David grinned before slipping back inside the Audi.

----------

It was a beautiful day. Too beautiful to be sitting inside of a board room while the mid-morning sunshine shone brightly through the multitudes of glass windows that lined one side of the board room. David turned his attention from the windows and looked to Lucius Fox as he conducted a meeting with the members of the board. He half-listened and looked down at his iphone while Mr. Fox read out the numbers from the fair fundraiser, despite the attack. As he spoke, David couldn't help but think how close he was to being blown up in his own car.

"Well, I just hope that your retirement party isn't as eventful as the fundraiser was," Bruce said from the end of the table. The comment caused more than a few to smile and chuckle.

"You and I both, Mr. Wayne," Mr. Fox stated.

David smiled as he looked over at his Dad.

Bruce turned to the window when a flash of light caught the corner of his eye. It wasn't until he noticed that it was moving that he stood up to get a better look. Lucius continued the meeting as Bruce walked towards the window.

David watched his Dad, realizing that he was watching something. When he suddenly turned and interrupted Mr. Fox, David knew that something was wrong.

"I'm sorry Mr. Fox, but I think it's time that we ended this meeting and reschedule it for a later time," Bruce said quickly, as he walked away from the window.

All of the board members were shocked. One stood up and turned to Bruce.

"Mr. Wayne, I altered my travel plans with my wife in order to make it here today," he said.

"Mr. Tangay, I must insist," Bruce said, turning back to look out the window as a loud rumbling sound gradually got louder in the board room. Just as Bruce pushed Mr. Tangay back, each and every one window suddenly blew out one after the other. Everyone at the table, jumped underneath it as glass flew around the room. A few screamed from the loud explosion and the sound of the wind blowing into the room

"What the hell was that!?" a board member exclaimed.

"An airplane," Bruce replied. David looked up over the table after the glass had stopped falling as the sound of a loud crash echoed up into the room. He walked over to the edge of the window and carefully looked down, seeing a plume of smoke slowly rising towards them.

* * *

"Downtown Gotham's financial district was the site of a single plane crash earlier this morning," the reporter stated. Bruce, David and Lucius stood in front of the television in Bruce's office, watching as the news came in about the plane crash. The board room was already in the process of being assessed by the insurance company.

"There were no fatalities on the ground and minimal damage to the surrounding buildings, Wayne Tower taking the majority of the damage," the reporter continued. "Fire officials have put out the fire and we've been told that the surrounding streets will continue to be closed for further investigation during the afternoon rush hour. What we have learned has been startling. The accident doesn't appear to be one, but this is still pending investigation. We've been told that the pilot was dressed as Batman with the letters, Who Am I? painted in white on his chest. The ID of the pilot has not been disclosed. Stay tuned for further information."

Bruce flipped the switch, turning off the television.

"Where have we seen this before?" Bruce asked.

He turned to David, noticing his confusion. "There was an incident many years ago, before I knew you when the Joker was taking men who dressed as Batman and killing them, but not before putting out a statement that he wanted Batman to step forward and reveal himself."

David shook his head. "Joker has been dead for over ten years. He can't be alive."

"It looks like we may have a copy cat," Lucius continued. "Perhaps one that knows just as much as he did."


	6. Chapter 6

David walked through the side door of Wayne Manor. He saw the large number of guests slowly arriving as they made their way through the front door and he quickly turned to another entrance. He sighed, closing the door behind him before heading towards the kitchen. He passed one of the many servers that Wayne Enterprises had employed for the evening as he walked into the kitchen. He paused, noticing a figure sitting at the counter among dozens of trays that were waiting to be brought out to the multitudes of guests within the main hall of Wayne Manor.

"What are you doing down here? I thought you were still grounded and not allowed to come down for the party."

Allison looked over her shoulder and shrugged.

"Even the inmates are allowed to eat." She glanced back at him once again before stuffing a few hors d'ourves into her mouth. "Someone is looking to impress tonight. Is Heather here yet?"

David ignored her previous comment as he tugged on his tie that seemed to be threatening to choke the living daylights out of him.

"No, she's not here yet. Heather is working a little late at the hospital and wont get here until later."

"Wouldn't it be a hoot if she didn't even show up!?" Allison exclaimed with her mouth full. "She probably doesn't tell you in case she hurts your feelings."

David walked up behind Allison and leaned over next to her ear.

"At least I'll be spending my night down here while you're enjoying the solitude with your stuffed animals that we all know cover your bed and keep those monsters under your bed," he whispered, teasing filling his voice.

David chuckled as he reached over top of her and grabbed a grape from one of the trays before tossing it in his mouth. He heard her scoff as he turned to leave the room.

* * *

She was late.

It was obvious when David called her cell phone to pick her up a few hours prior, when she was still working in the ER at the hospital. After apologizing and stating that she'd just meet him at Wayne Manor for the party when she got off work, Heather returned to the ER. For what seemed like a half hour, quickly turned into two and then into three. By the time she walked out of the hospital, it was nearly nine o' clock at night. She had raced home and in a whirlwind of less than a half hour, Heather found herself once again on the road heading towards Wayne Manor with Kate's old Neon as her carriage. She glanced up at her appearance in the rear view mirror, almost certain that her hair would appear as frazzled as she currently was. She let out a deep breath as she pulled onto the grounds of Wayne Manor, seeing the lights of the house shining right up to the street. Many cars lined the drive as she pulled up that when she finally reached the front steps, she was certain that she had counted at least five Porches, a few Jaguars and the odd Rolls Royce sitting on the property. Heather stepped out of the car as the valet met her on the bottom step. Meekly, she passed the valet, the keys of the modest car and smiled before making her way up the stone steps towards the front door.

She smiled gratiously to the man at the door as he held it open for her. Once inside, she could hear laughter, music and tinkling crystal glasses. The place was packed with people; some she recognized only from the television or newspaper and others, she had never seen before in her life and assumed they were Wayne Enterprise employees or associates. Heather scanned the room, looking for anyone from the Wayne family.

The room was beautiful. Once again, Wayne Enterprises outdid themselves. Then again, it wasn't very often that someone from such a reputable company would be retiring after a forty-something years of employment.

After waiting for another few seconds, Heather walked boldly and confidently into the crowded room.

----------------

David watched as she had entered the mansion. He had barely recognized her. Her navy blue strapless dress suited her perfectly. It was classy and elegant, just like her. He stood still, not sure why he couldn't move. He watched her smile at one of the waiters and walk slowly towards the hall, standing at the doors for a brief minute before walking into the room.

"Are you going to stand here all night?"

David jumped and turned, seeing Alfred standing directly behind him.

"You're as bad as your Father was when he began falling in love with your Mother," Alfred said, before walking around David towards the staircase.

"Who said that I'm in love with Heather?"

Alfred stopped, turned and smiled.

"You did, when you stood there like a fool, watching her walk into the hall alone," Alfred commented. "You had that look."

David wasn't sure whether he should have been embarrassed or offended. He scoffed.

"What look?!"

"The look of a man in love with his best friend, and who is terrified of making a decision," Alfred said. "So, I suggest you make one before you loose your chance. He who hesitates has lost."

Alfred turned around and continued to walk up the staircase. David smirked as he adjusted his tie as he walked into the hall. He walked up up to the nearest waiter and took two glasses off the tray before he made his way towards Heather as she scanned the crowd, looking for him.

He excused himself and quickly greeted guests as he made his way through the crowd towards Heather. He sighed when he was within a few feet of her. He walked up behind her, and smirked.

"Are you lost?"

He watched her turn at his voice as a smile came to her face.

"David!" she exclaimed. "I was looking for you and was hoping that I'd run into you!"

He handed her one of the champagne glasses in his hand. She thanked him as she took it. Heather smiled, looking at his suit. "You look nice tonight."

"Thanks, oh and so do you," David added, quickly taking in her appearance, mentally noting how form fitting the dress was on her. "Is that a new dress?"

He forced himself to look at her in the eyes, and ignored his wandering imagination. He watched her eyes smile as she gently touched the fabric that was wrapped around her.

"Yeah, Kate helped me pick it out," she replied, before quickly grimacing. "I hope it's appropriate."

David shook his head. "It's fine. You look beautiful." He paused for a moment. "You really do." He watched her smile at his comment.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, David offered his arm. Heather grinned and took it with her free hand, carrying her champagne glass in the other as David led her through the crowd of guests.

"So, uh, who are all these people?" Heather asked, softly.

David stopped and turned. "A lot of them are employees of Wayne Enterprises. Most are from the upper management with whom Mr. Fox has worked with for a number of years. The other odd few are city dignitaries, and business associates which the company has had contracts with. Then there are those that I don't even know why they're here." David leaned towards her and pointed towards a young man, tipping champagne not too far away. "Do you see that man over there?"

Heather glanced up at David, before looking back at the man in question. "Yeah."

"That is Gregory Whitaker," David said softly. "He's my age. He's a conniving bastard. He somewhat inherited his family's business a year ago. His Dad stepped down as owner but remained as CEO. Wayne Enterprises had done business with them for many years but the second that he became owner, that all changed. He practically ripped up the contracts and shifted the direction of the company his family put together."

Heather shrugged. "Maybe he has a different vision for the company?"

David chuckled before taking a casual sip of his champagne when he noticed Gregory glance in their direction. David smiled and nodded in greeting as he spoke. "He fired his father from the position as CEO."

Heather turned her attention to David when she realized that Gregory was walking towards them.

"Wayne," a voice droned out. David turned, seeing Gregory standing a few feet away from them. He plastered a smile on his face for the man he loathed.

"Hey Whit," David said, extending his hand towards the man. Gregory shook his hand. "Good to see you tonight."

"I was actually surprised to get the invite," he admitted. "But I couldn't pass up at party put on by Wayne Enterprises. They always seem to be enjoyable." His eyes travelled from David to Heather. Gregory smiled. "And if they are not, the company is always pleasant. Are you going to introduce me to your lovely arm candy for the night?"

Heather nearly choked on at his words, but instead she smiled politely. 'That's right, Heather. Kill him with kindness.'

David winced slightly and looked at her, apologetically. "This is Heather Tamarack. She's a very good friend of mine."

Before Heather could say anything, Gregory spoke. "A friend?"

"A very good friend," David corrected.

"Well, seeing as she's just your very good friend, then you wouldn't mind me having the pleasure of a dance with her," Gregory said, looking at David.

"Thank you for the offer, but I really don't dance," Heather suddenly said.

"Oh come on," Gregory insisted. "It would be a pity to be dressed up so lovely and to not dance."

"I'm sorry, but no thank you."

"Just once?"

"Are you always this persistent in everything Whit?" David interrupted.

"I'm just asking your guest to honour me with a dance, that's all," he replied. "And I'm not going to give up until I get that dance."

Heather sighed and looked towards Gregory. She smiled sweetly as she took his hand. The gesture not only surprised Gregory but David couldn't help but feel for some reason, as though he had been punched in the stomach.

"I'll dance with you," she said, sweetly. "But just once. But first, I need a good, stiff drink and this champagne isn't going to cut it."

Gregory smirked and took her wine glass as he winked at her. "I know just the thing. I'll be right back." He quickly turned and headed towards the bar.

David was still in shock. The next thing he knew, Heather had grabbed his hand.

"Come on! Let's go!" she whispered, a playful smile on her face. David was still confused. "I'm really not wanting to dance with that guy so we have to move fast if we want to get out of here before he sees us."

David slowly grinned, understanding her as he followed her through the crowd of people. They excused themselves as they darted around the guests, slowly making their way towards one of the doors.

-----------------

Bruce looked at himself in the large mirror that hung on the bathroom wall. He tried to replay the words of the speech he intended to deliver later that evening as he splashed water on his face. He was having trouble forgetting what he had learned while he was taking apart the recorder and the images of the bomb. David was so close be killed; too close. Batman had raced around Gotham trying to find answers to his impossible question - Was the Joker alive? It was true that the audio from the recording didn't match that of the Joker, but the question still begged, who else would know what the Joker would know?

He reached over and grabbed the towel as he felt a pair of hands wrap around him from behind, followed by a kiss on the back of his neck. He smiled, recognizing the touch. A second later, he saw his wife's eyes appear over his shoulder as she rested her chin on his arm. He watched as her eyes fell on the new ghastly coloured bruises that rested on his chest. Her hands slowly and tenderly covered them before she rested her cheek against his back.

"I know what you're thinking," Bruce finally said, softly. He took her hands and turned around. "And I'm fine."

Olivia sighed. "This time, again."

"And next time as well, I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"I do. You're not as fast as you used to be," she reminded him once again. "What's going to happen if you ever come home with a life threatening injury that Alfred wouldn't be able to take care of? Huh? Should I just take you to the hospital and tell the staff there to just ignore the fact that you're dressed in black Kevlar?"

Bruce chuckled.

"I'm serious, Bruce."

He nodded. "I know. But it will never come to that."

Bruce leaned down and softly kissed her lips. Finally, he reached onto the counter and grabbed his white dress shirt before turning around in front of the mirror to put it on. "How late are we this time?"

"A little over two hours," Olivia replied, leaning against the back wall. "David's been covering for us, and has been telling guests that you're on a business call."

He shrugged. "Good idea."

There was a knock on the bedroom door as Olivia walked over to open it. Alfred smiled. "Sir, madam, the guests are waiting for you."

Bruce stood up straight and offered his arm to Olivia. "Ready?"

---------------

The sound of laughter echoed up the staircase. Bruce turned as he saw the doors near the back of the hall close quickly as they came down the last few stairs and saw David and Heather, both smiling and out of breath.

"David? Heather?"

The couple stopped, hearing their names being called by Bruce and saw him and Olivia making their way down the staircase with Alfred beside them. "What's going on?"

Heather chuckled before she let go of David's hand, not even realizing that she was still holding onto it. "Oh, just trying to avoid someone."

Bruce caught David glance down awkwardly and smirked.

Olivia smiled. "You look so beautiful tonight, Heather. You look a lot like your Mom."

"Thank you, Mrs. Wayne," Heather replied with a smile. "I love the colour of your dress! It looks great on you!"

"I have to agree," Bruce said, wrapping an arm around Olivia's waist. She smiled as Bruce placed a kiss on her forehead. A moment later, he turned to David. "Don't hide out here for too long. We're giving the presentation to Mr. Fox in a few minutes."

David nodded before Alfred opened the door for Olivia and Bruce. Through the door, David could see Gregory not too far away. The young man caught David's eye. Quickly, David pushed Heather down the hallway and into another room. He quickly closed the door. The room was dark, but Heather could make out David's silhouette by the light from the night sky streaming in from the large open window. He held a hand up to his lips as they waited. After a minute, he sighed.

"Did he see you?" Heather whispered, feeling the wall for the light switch.

"He did," David replied, softly. "But I don't think he saw us come into this room."

The room brightened to reveal a large oak desk to one side and several leather chairs, a coffee table and a sofa arranged in the middle of the room. The walls were covered with shelves filled with books.

Heather walked towards the coffee table and picked up a book. She read the title and smirked before turning to David.

"Macbeth," she said, putting the book back on the table. David walked towards her.

"Allison must have been studying in her earlier." He paused for a moment, watching her walk towards the book shelf. "What do we do now? We can't stay in here all night. I'm expected out there in a little bit."

Heather turned and shrugged. "If it gets me out of dancing with that man, I'll stay in here." She looked out the window. "I could even sneak out this window to make it to my car if I had to."

David walked up next to her and pushed the curtain aside and glanced down. "We're nearly six feet off the ground and you'd land on top of a rose bush. I don't think that would end well."

Heather chuckled, looking out beside him.

"Besides, I'd like to have a chance to dance with you tonight." David paused, a little awkwardly and hoped to smooth it over with a few more words. "If you don't mind, that is."

Heather let go of the curtain and looked up at David, thoughtfully. She furrowed her eyebrows as she thought. Finally, she smirked. "I have an idea."

David watched as she undid the straps on her heels, taking two inches off her height and tossed the pair of shoes onto the couch. She tiptoed over to the door and opened it ever so slightly before peeking down the hall to ensure no one was there. The sound of music slowly filled the room, although it was softer than it would be in the hall.

"Now we can dance," she announced.

David nodding, understanding. "Okay, I get the door thing but why did you take off your shoes?"

"Oh, that's only for your benefit," she replied with a smile. "I wouldn't want to hurt your feet when I step on them."

David chuckled as Heather stood in front of him. He undid his suit coat and tossed it on the leather chair. He reached forward and put his hand on her lower back before taking her hand with his other hand. He watched in amusement as Heather looked down at their feet.

"You don't need to worry about stepping on my feet," David reminded her, softly.

"I'm a crappy dancer. It's been a while since I danced with someone. I think the last time was with my uncle at my cousin's wedding two years ago and he was drunk so that didn't help much."

David chuckled.

"You're not a crappy dancer," he stated. "Just try not to pretend that you're dancing with your uncle and you'll be fine. You just need to relax your shoulders a little and move closer."

"Closer?"

To emphasize his point, David pulled Heather closer to him until there was no space between them. She could feel the heat of his hand through the fabric of her dress on her back. She looked up at him, a little uncomfortable with the lack of space between them, but she didn't back away. Heather let out a breath.

"I think I'm relaxed now," she said, softly with a smile. She looked up at David, and noticed that he was watching her very carefully. He wasn't moving. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just noticing things about you that I've never realized before. Probably because I've never stood this close to you before."

"Like what?"

"You have that scar near your upper lip..."

Heather smiled and interrupted. "Now we both have facial scars! Although mine wasn't from my an injury due to my car exploding."

David chuckled and nodded. "And there are some other things too. The freckles on your cheeks and the way you smile. Your nose scrunches up. It's cute."

Heather laughed uncomfortably. "Cute?"

David grinned and took his hand out of her hand and slowly reached up and touched the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, right here."

Heather smiled, but the smile faded when she felt his fingers slide down her nose and fall onto her cheek before finally landing beneath her chin. She saw him leaning in towards her.

"David? What are you doing?"

Her voice was barely audible as it cracked while her heart sped up.

David couldn't stop. The words from Alfred echoed in his mind - he who hesitates has lost. He had gone this far now and if he didn't go the entire way, he'd most likely regret it. He heard Heather speak his name softly and watched her face turn from confusion to becoming slightly apprehensive and afraid, yet she didn't back up, push him away or let go of his shoulder.

He leaned in more, not sure if it was time that was slowing down or if he was moving as slow as he was. It wasn't until he felt the side of her nose touch his that he heard her speak again.

"David," she whispered, causing him to freeze a mere inch from her lips. He could feel her breath on his skin. His heart raced. "You're my friend. Friends don't do this."

She was reminding herself of that fact as much as she was telling him. Yet, she wasn't moving.

"What if I want to be more?"

"More?"

Heather sucked in a breath, feeling his lips move along her cheek until they finally rested on her lips. She was certain that her heart skipped a beat or two. This was something that she wanted for so long as she had stood back and watched him go out with woman after woman for years, yet now she was fighting her feelings with as much self control as she could. She was losing the battle.

His lips touched hers for just a mere second. For all the women he had kissed in his life, kissing Heather was like the very first time. He was afraid. He was afraid of being rejected. When he realized that his kiss wasn't one sided, he kissed her again. It was different this time. He felt her move her hand from his shoulder, to the hair on the back of his neck. The sensation was enough to deepen the kiss, yet it was just as tender and sweet as the first. Her other hand was quickly onto his cheek as David reached and wrapped his ams around to her back, feeling her bare back above the low neckline of her dress beneath his hands.

He couldn't believe it. He heard her moan as she continued to kiss him. This woman, his best friend, whom he had known for ten years was kissing him with as much passion as he was kissing her. The next thing he knew, he felt her fingers around his tie as she loosened it and pulled it off before quickly undoing the buttons on his shirt. David heard her chuckle in the kiss as she struggled with the buttons before she was able to undo the top five buttons.

David had no idea where this was going, but he had never felt this way before. It wasn't until they both heard the distinct sound of someone holding the door handle and pushing it open that they quickly turned, but not quickly enough.

Heather nearly jumped out of her skin as she quickly broke the kiss and backed away from David as though he carried some infectious disease. Bruce and Olivia stood at the door, just as shocked as the couple before them.

Heather was mortified. What had she done? This was the same boy that she met when she was fifteen who teased her about her braces and then dared her to swing across the creek on an old weathered rope before slipping ungracefully into the mud. She glanced over at David, his hair no longer in place, his tie undone as well as the first few buttons of his shirt.

"I...uh...I," Heather stammered, her face flushed and hair in slight disarray. "I should go."

Before another second could pass, she quickly picked up her shoes. She didn't even dare to look at Mr. or Mrs. Wayne as she made her way out of the room. Embarrassment of being caught nearly undressing their son was enough to make her want to run as fast as she could. Quickly, she turned and headed towards the front door.

It took David a few seconds to realize what had just happened. He ran a hand through his hair before running his hand down his overwhelmed face, stopping on his slightly swollen lips. He looked up at his parents, not sure what to say.

"We're needing you in the hall right now," Bruce said softly, after lightly clearing his throat. "But I'd suggest that you go after Heather first."

David finally nodded, as oxygen and sense suddenly seemed to come back into his brain. He quickly walked past them, doing up the buttons on his shirt before quickly doing his hair as he entered the parlour of the house. He caught Heather leaning against the wall near the door as she slipped on her shoes. A valet stood walked up to her, passing her the keys to her car. He rushed over to her, glancing at a few suspecting waiters and guests at his current appearance.

"Heather, we need to talk about this," he said, as discretely as possible, after gently touching her shoulder.

Heather stood up, and took a deep breath. "There's nothing to talk about. I need to leave."

"Nothing..? Heather, were you not in that room a few minutes ago? I kissed you...you kissed me."

"It was a mistake. Can we just pretend that it didn't happen?" she said, purposely trying to avoid his eyes and the subject. The words that the horrible man had whispered in her ear at the store about the Wayne family haunted her thoughts as she saw Mr. and Mrs. Wayne stand discreetly across the parlour. She looked out the door, waiting for the valet to bring her car around. "I'm sorry David, but I can't do this."

He let out a sigh, looking around the parlour at the half dozen waiters in the room, along with Alfred standing by his parents as they stood near the hall doors, waiting for David. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath. He had to stop her. He had to say something to make her stay. Only one thing came to mind.

"Heather, I love you. You are my best friend and I want to spend my days and nights with you," he stated, both loudly and boldly, making sure she would hear as she began to step out the door. He no longer cared about who was in the room. "I couldn't imagine my life without you. Please don't leave. Stay with me, forever."

Everyone in the room seemed to freeze as the words came out of David's mouth. Heather paused at the door and turned, frozen like a deer in headlights.

'He didn't just say what I thought he said,' Heather thought over in her mind, almost certain she was imagining it. This couldn't be happening. She never intended it to happen, especially now.

"What did you just say?"

David let a breath and he smiled slightly as he walked towards her, ignoring the others who just overheard his proclamation.

"I...I love you," he said again, softer this time. "And I guess I'm asking you to marry me, but not in so many words." He smiled slightly.

Heather closed her eyes as she looked down at her feet. When she looked back up, he saw the tears in her eyes and his smile faded.

"David, I'm sorry but I can't," she said softly, before taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

She had to get out. Watching his face turn from shock to incredible disappointment was too much. Heather quickly turned and went to her car.

David stood in the parlour, stunned at what had just happened. He slowly turned, seeing both his parents and Alfred not too far away. Silently, he walked up to them.

"Okay, let's do this presentation," he said softly. He turned to Alfred. "Alfred, could you get my jacket from the library for me?"

"Certainly sir."

Olivia watched Alfred as he walked towards the library to pick it up. Bruce sighed.

"Are you sure that you want to be present for this? I can probably cover for you, given the circumstances."

"No," David said, assertively, as he quickly wrapped his tie around his neck and fixed his hair. "I want to do this. I need to do this. The quicker I forget about what just happened, the better."

Olivia smiled weakly as she touched David's arm before Bruce opened the door to the hall.

----------------

The car stopped at the red street light. Heather held onto the steering wheel as though it was a life line. She could feel herself on the edge of sobbing, but she continued to take deep breaths, praying it would keep her calm. She opened the window for fresh air. What had she just done? In one night, she most likely destroyed a perfectly good friendship with one mistake kiss and not only that, she rejected a proposal. He proposed! Heather couldn't believe it. The words that every girl dreams about hearing sometime in their life, she heard yet she said no. She felt sick to her stomach.

As she sat at the light, she felt the tears fall down her cheeks. She loved him, yet she said nothing. His face when she left was stuck in her head and it literally hurt.

A honk behind her caught her attention as she looked up, seeing that the light was green. She was thankful that her place was far enough away from Wayne Manor that when she would return home, most, if not all evidence of her crying would be gone. As she pulled up on her road, she was surprised. Cars lined either side of the road and the lgihts inside were all on and she could see people in the back yard. After finally finding a spot to park, she got out and walked up to the house. Her manner of dress certainly cuaght more than one person's attention. She received a few wolf whistles on her way into the house as well.

When she finally caught the back of Kate's head in the kitchen, she quickly made her way to her housemate and tapped her shoulder. KAte turned, a smile on her face which quickly faded when she saw that Heather had returned home, early.

"Heather! You're back! I wasn't expecting you for another couple of hours!"

"What the hell is going on here?!" Heather exclaimed over the loudness of the music and the people who were talking.

"A party! Now what are you doing back so soon?"

"It's a long story," Heather said, her voice a little softer.

Kate read her friends face. "What happened?"

Heather looked around before gesturing that she should follow her upstairs. She opened the door to her room, and kicked the couple who were practically making out on her bed before slamming the door.

"Heather, what happened?!"

She took a deep breath. "David proposed."

Kate's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "He..he..wh..what?"

"That was after we kissed and were caught by his parents and I ran out." Heather paused, the tears starting to come to her eyes again. "And I think I just made the biggest mistake of my life."

Kate slowly smiled. "I know what will make you feel better, and it's downstairs."

"I'm not in the mood for a drink," Heather replied.

"Okay, no drink, but at least some fun," Kate said. "I know a few guys are here from the hospital and when I mentioned you, they wanted to meet you."

She could see Heather was about to refuse. "Come on. Just for the conversation."

"Fine," Heather said. "Let me just get changed and I'll be down shortly."

-------------------

The party had ended. The guests were gone and the few remaining hired waiters were busy cleaning up the hall. Olivia walked down the staircase in jogging pants and a t-shirt before walking into the kitchen. She saw both Bruce and Alfred sitting at the table, both appearing tired as the smell of coffee filled the room. Bruce seemed surprised to see Olivia.

"I thought you had gone to bed," he said.

"I was," Olivia said. "But I can't sleep. I can't stop thinking about David right now and how he must be feeling. Where is he anyways?"

"Out on the terrace," Alfred said. "He refuses to come in."

"The terrace?" Olivia glanced outside the window, seeing the beads of rain sliding down the glass. "I knew that he cared about her, but never to the extent that we discovered tonight."

"I don't think that he never fully realized it either, until tonight," Bruce added. "He'll come in when he's ready. At least I managed to grab the bottle of wine from him before he went out to sit in the rain."

"Maybe you should go talk to him, Bruce. At least try to convince him to go talk with Heather."

Bruce sighed and stood up from the table. He smiled weakly to Olivia before walking out of the room and towards the terrace doors. He couldn't see out into the night but the moment he opened one side of the french doors, he saw David sitting on the step of the terrace, his back towards him. The rain had slowed down to a light mist but it was clear that David was drenched. His Armani suit soaked. Bruce slipped outside and stood next to the brick wall, underneath the overhang.

"David, come on inside so we can talk."

He watched his son shake his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Then, lets talk about something else. I managed to get that audio track from the recorder earlier tonight."

David turned his head slightly. "I told you that I didn't recognize the voice."

"I know," Bruce quickly said. "But there are similarities to those of the Joker within the inflections. I could use a little help with searching through the database for voice matches."

"So, you're saying he's alive," David stated, more than asked. He let out a mock laugh. "My life couldn't get any better than this! First, I screw up a perfectly good friendship by kissing my best friend. Then I open my big mouth and tell her along with more ears that I'd like to know, that I love her and want to marry her before she outright refuses. And now, you're telling me that the Joker, the one man that knows the biggest secret that this family has, is alive."

"I really don't think it's him though."

Bruce trailed off as he watched David stand up and turn around.

"I just don't understand. What gives her the right to kiss me like that and then completely run off without an explanation, huh? That makes no sense at all. I wasn't just kissing myself after all."

Bruce smirked, running a hand through his hair. "No, you were not."

"I can understand the shock of being proposed to out of the blue, but why would she run out of the library like that?"

"I think that's something you'll need to ask her about."

David shook his head. "She wouldn't want to see me after what happened."

Bruce shrugged. "It's worth a try."

* * *

Heather felt one hundred times better than two hours before. She was glad that she wouldn't have to work in the morning. She had originally promised herself only one cup of vodka when she had come down from upstairs, freshly showered and changed into a black tank top and blue jeans. But one quickly turned to two and before long she was indulging in a game of beeropoly with a few people whom she had only met ten minutes earlier. She didn't even notice Kate come up behind her and whisper in her ear.

"I think you should take a break, Heather," she suggested. Heather turned, completley confused and annoyed.

"Why would I have a break!?" she slurred loudly. "I'm having a good time with my new friends."

"Leave the woman alone," the man beside Heather stated to Kate, while placing a hand around Heather's shoulder. "She's havin' a good time."

Heather turned towards him and wobbly pointed at his chest. "Thank you! Finally, someone understands me here!"

Kate stood up, feeling defeated and knowing that convincing Heather to stop was becoming harder with each drink she took. Frankly, Kate had never seen or known Heather to become drunk. She'd be the first one to enter a debate on the effects of alcohol on one's system.

"Come on Boardwalk!" she heard Heather call out loudly which gained a round of cheers around her.

---------------

David took his Dad's suggestion and literally left the house right away. He knew he wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon and the sooner he talked to Heather about the situation, the better. It had occurred to him half way to her house that she might be asleep when he'd arrive, so he was shocked to find a dozen or so cars lining up the street and the lights inside the house shining brightly. He quickly parked the car and walked up to the house. Instead of knocking, he just walked in to find the place full of people, each holding some sort of beverage and by the smell of the house, David realized it was various types of alcohol. The music was loud as people drunkenly danced around. He tried to make his way through the crowd when he felt someone pull on his sleeve.

"David!"

It was Kate.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was wanting to talk with Heather. Is she here somewhere?"

Kate winced and bit her lip before nodding. The loud sound of laughter momentarily overpowering the music in his ears caught his attention followed by someone calling out Heather's name. He turned towards it.

"You might not want to go in there," Kate warned him. The look in her eyes was enough to tell him that he most definitely should go in there. He walked towards the living room and couldn't believe his eyes.

"I tried to get her stop drinking but she wouldn't listen," Kate said from behind David.

There was Heather, standing on the coffee table dancing rather seductively in front of half a dozen men. In one hand she held a bottle of beer as one of the many guys around her tucked a dollar bill into her pants. David watched as one of the men jumped onto the coffee table and slowly tucked a ten dollar bill into her shirt. It was then that she saw David standing a few feet away from her. Instead of embarrassment, she smiled.

"Ha! There is the man that proposed to me and I said, no!" she slurred drunkenly, before she laughed. "But god, is he a damn good kisser."

David couldn't watch any longer. Without another second, he walked up to her and literally swung her over his shoulder much to the dismay of the people around him and to Heather as she hung upside down behind him. He walked through the crowd of people, not stopping once.

"Put me down!" she exclaimed, as David walked out of the house with her still hanging over his shoulder.

"No."

Heather didn't say anything as he walked towards the Lamborghini. After a few seconds, he heard her begin to laugh.

"I'm upside down and you're all wet!"

"It was raining earlier."

He stopped and gently set her back on the sidewalk beside the Lamborghini. "You're coming home with me. You're not staying at your house tonight. I don't trust those guys there."

He watched her face turn into a pout. "I can take care of myself. Besides, I was having a good time."

"Too much of a good time if you ask me," he said, opening the door. "Get in."

She sighed, crossing her arms. "No."

David looked down at the pavement before taking her by the arm and literally pushing her into the car before closing the door. He walked around the car and climbed into the drivers seat before looking over at her. She kept that look of defiance on her face and her arms were still crossed. With a sigh, David reached over her for the seat belt and buckled her in before turning on the Lamborghini to head towards the Penthouse.

---------------

He was thankful that it was as late as it was. No one was around to see him bring a half-drunken woman into the building. She drifted in and out of sleep as he drove her to the tower and he was finally able to relax once they reached the penthouse. He watched Heather take a few steps and noticed that her balance was no better than before. David quickly put an arm around her waist as she fell into him. He watched her face slowly smile, mischievousness in her eyes. Heather gently put her hands on David's chest.

"Someone has been working out," she whispered.

David quickly took both her hands.

"And you have been drinking."

She shrugged, taking a step towards David. "At least I feel better than I have been in ages."

David smiled. "Just wait until later."

He led her down the hallway towards his room and turned on the lamp before leading her to sit down on the bed.

"You can sleep here tonight," he told her, as he pulled off his wet jacket and draped it over a chair that sat next to the wall. He turned to Heather, seeing that she was sitting on the bed, her eyes half closed. He bent over and began to untie her shoes. "I'll take the room across the hall."

"David..."

He looked up, seeing a look of shock on her face before her hand flew to her mouth. She pushed him away from her and he lost his balance, his butt landing on the floor. He saw her trailing form as she staggered quickly into the bathroom before he heard her promptly empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

Heather had never felt so horrible in her life. The feelings of euphoria were quickly disappearing and were being replaced with the horrible cloud over her head and in her stomach. She took a deep breath, before flushing the toilet and resting her head along the edge of the bowl. The sudden feeling of a pair of hands gently rubbing her shoulders startled her before she relaxed into them. She sighed before those same hands pulled her auburn hair up onto her head as a cool washcloth was placed onto her neck.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

She heard a familiar light chuckle. "I'll get you something to drink after I get you into bed. I might have something to take the edge off of the hangover feeling."

Heather saw David offer her a hand. She shook her head.

"You don't have to do all of this for me. I can take care of myself. I did this to myself. I deserve it," Heather said putting her head back down on the toilet bowl. "Especially after what happened earlier tonight."

David smiled weakly. "Just forget about what happened."

Heather chuckled lightly as she slowly lifted her head. "I don't think I ever will. No one has ever kissed me like you had and I never thought I'd hear you say what you said."

She heard rustling before she felt David sit down beside her on the tile floor. He let out a sigh. "Why did you leave?"

Heather glanced over at him, somewhat amused to see the man in a wet Armani suit sitting on the bathroom floor next to her.

"Honestly, I was afraid," she said, softly. "I am afraid of loosing our friendship. I've seen you go out with countless women since I've known you. And I know you. The relationships rarely last longer than a few months and then you never hear from them again. I don't want to loose you. You're my best friend. I had to get out of there before anything else happened. I wanted to save whatever fragment of our friendship that still existed. I'm partly glad that your parents walked in when they did."

David looked down at the tile floor, when something hit him.

"You're partly glad?"

He saw Heather shrug. "I'm not sure if it's because of the alcohol that I'm pulling out the honesty chip or what, but I have to say that I rather enjoyed our short time alone in the library."

David smiled.

"And I have to tell you something else too," she added. "I know it probably wont mean much coming from a half-drunk woman, sitting on your bathroom floor but I figure that I better tell you while I don't care much about what you'll think."

"Okay."

"Batman has a twin!"

David rolled his eyes as he pushed himself up off the floor. 'So much for becoming sober.' As much as Heather was talking normally a few moments ago, she was still drunk. He reached down and put his hand under her arm to help her up.

"All right," he said. "Let's get you to bed and you can tell me all about Batman and his twin."

"You don't believe me!"

David shook his head as he walked with Heather towards his bed and helped her to sit down. He pulled the blankets back and encouraged her to lie down.

Heather smiled. "I met him that night at the store, you know. As crazy as it sounds, I don't think he was alone. That night was crazy to start with, especially after those creepy guys dressed as clowns grabbed me and one of them whispered horrid things in my ear before grabbing the store keys from my pocket." For emphasis, she shuddered as David sat down on the edge of the bed as she spoke. "His breath was nasty and when he kissed my cheek it made me want to throw up." She sat up, pushing the blankets off herself as David had just placed them over her and looked at him, his face completely serious as he swallowed the new-found knowledge that she was telling him in her half-inebriated state. She smiled and reached for David's face as he sat beside her. "Not like when you kissed me. You could kiss me anytime you want."

David smiled slightly at her comments before shaking his head, getting his mind back to what she had told him just prior.

"Heather, what did he say to you?"

"Who?"

"The guy that whispered in your ear."

"Oh the guy that kissed my cheek?" She shrugged. "Just some stuff that I can't repeat."

David watched her face fall.

"Heather, what did he say?"

She layed down and rolled over on her side. "I don't want anything to happen to you or your family."

"Is that what he threatened you with? Did he say that he'd do something if you repeated what he said?"

Heather nodded.

"You need to tell me what he said."

She sighed and rolled back over before looking up at David. "In a nut shell, he told me that he knew that I was important to your family and he said that the Wayne's destroyed his life and in turn he was going to destroy your lives by exposing your secrets. What secrets do you have?"

David forced a smile. "I told them to you tonight. I love you."

Heather smiled sleepily as she rolled over on her side. "Oh that's right."

"I'll be right back with that water for you," David said, before standing up from the bed. He glanced back at Heather before walking out of the room to the kitchen. He picked up the phone and dialed the number for the cave. He wasn't surprised to not get an answer so instead he left a message. When he was done, he grabbed a cup of water before heading back towards the bedroom. When he looked into the bedroom, he saw Heather had fallen asleep. Quietly, he placed the cup on the bedside table. He looked down at her sleeping form, hearing her breath lightly as she fell into a deeper sleep. He carefully reached down and brushed her hair away from her face before turning to leave the room.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N This is a little shorter than what I'm used to doing. I had the hardest trouble getting through the Heather/David parts...I don't know why. That is why this is so late. This wasn't my best chapter but it got the characters to the point where I wanted it to be. Things are starting to get a little more action-y and will be for the foreseeable future....

--------------

The rain continued to come down from the dark skies and the gentle pelting against the large penthouse windows along with the ticking of the large clock created a soothing and calm atmosphere compared to the chaos of the city outside. David had been in and out of his room to check on Heather. He would occasionally hear her voice and he'd go across the hall to check on her, only to find her in a fitful sleep. With a sigh, David walked down the hallway towards the kitchen. It was nearly dawn and he had yet to fall asleep. The previous conversation with Heather kept replaying in his mind as had tried to fall asleep.

As he walked into the living area, he turned towards the terrace door as he felt a slightly cooler breeze drift along the floor. The door was closed and Dawn's light was just beginning to brighten the horizon. He sighed as he continued to make his way to the kitchen.

"You're getting sloppy in your old age," David quipped softly with a smile as he opened the fridge door.

"Watch it," that familiar voice warned, which elicited a chuckle from David. He turned, seeing Batman standing in the shadows. David wasn't surprised to get a visit from him after the phone call he made earlier in the night.

"Seriously though," David began. "I knew you were there long before I came into the kitchen."

David reached for the coffee pot that had long gone cold and poured himself a cup before quickly warming it up in the microwave. He offered a cup to Batman who quietly refused.

"I got your message," Batman began, ignoring David's last comment. "How is she?"

"She's asleep. I gave her something to help with whatever hangover she'll have when she wakes. Hopefully it'll work," David replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wish I could be sleeping too."

"You're certain about what she told you?"

David shrugged. "The only problem is that she was half-drunk when she told me about that night. She seemed completely out of in one moment and then sober the next. I gave her the benefit of the doubt considering she hadn't spoken much about what happened that night."

Batman nodded. "Heather didn't seem herself when I saw her at the store with Gordon either. She may have been telling you the truth."

"I called you because of what she said about the threat against our family," David stated.

Batman turned to look out the large window at the cityscape around them. The large clock beside the fireplace in the penthouse echoed the ticking of time. He shook his head.

"She should have never been pulled into this," he said, bitterly.

"It wasn't her fault," David argued. "Whoever is threatening us had no reason to go after her."

"Heather has been at our house many times over the years, here at the penthouse and you both have practically grown up together," he stated. "It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that she's more than an acquaintance of the family." He paused for a moment. "I may need her help, especially if she has heard his voice. I have the recording that you heard and she may be able to verify that the one who burned down the store and blew up your car are the same people and she may even be able to recognize a face, even if she saw it for a brief moment."

"You're still going on the whole Joker-back-from-the-dead angle?"

"I'm finding it hard to believe but I don't know who else it could be. Whoever it is, I need to catch this guy before he does something else."

-------------

Her feet were cold. She pulled them up, hoping that the blanket that covered her would eventually cover her chilly toes.

Heather laid flat on her stomach with her head resting partly on the pillow and partly on the sheets. She reached down below her for more of the blankets, not willing to open her eyes as her head was beginning to pound. She pulled down on the pillow and tucked it under her head. The pillow was so soft and smelled familiar, but not familiar in the sense of it belonging to her. David. She raised her head slightly from the pillow, her hair hanging around her face and slowly peeked her eyes open. She turned her head to the side, seeing the bedside table with a cup of water. She looked past it and recognized the various pieces of elegant furniture in the room and recognized where she was. She suddenly remembered the drinking she did at her house. Slowly she sat up. How did she get to the penthouse and why was she in David's bed? She strained her memory to pull up details.

With a sigh, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, feeling the ache of her foggy mind pound in her head. She rubbed the back of her neck before she stood up and walked towards the door.

----------------

"If you're going to talk to her about this, I want to be nearby," David stated.

"She's more likely to tell me what I need to know if you aren't around."

At the same moment, they both heard a sound. David turned his head to glance behind himself just as Batman looked past David towards the dark hallway. David quickly turned towards Batman to tell him to leave only to find that he was once again alone in the room. He smirked as he turned.

"I hope that I didn't wake you," David said, smiling at Heather as she appeared in the room.

She shook her head.

"How did you know that I was there?"

David shrugged as he walked towards her. "It's a gift. How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a Mack truck," she replied, rubbing her hand across the back of her neck.

David winced. "You're probably dehydrated. Get comfortable on the couch and I'll get you something to drink."

Heather watched him disappear into the kitchen. She turned and sat down on the couch, pulling the beautiful blanket that rested on the arm of the chair over her legs. She was still having trouble remembering much of the night. Heather ran her hands over her face just as David appeared next to her. He passed her a clear glass of water and sat down on the couch beside her. With a smile, she thanked him as she took it from his hand. She took a sip and looked back at David, noticing for the first time since she had woken that he was still in the same Armani suit that he had on last night, minus the jacket. The top few buttons were undone on his white dress shirt and his hair was completely a mess. If he looked this bad, Heather could only assume how horrible she looked. He sat two feet away from her and stared towards the empty fireplace in front of them, his knee bouncing as his hands played with his fingers; a nervous twitch that Heather had learned years ago that was uniquely David's. She sighed, knowing that he was currently uncomfortable with their situation.

"What are you doing up?"

He shrugged. "Doing some thinking. Besides, I couldn't sleep very much."

"A lot on your mind?"

He smiled and nodded. A few more seconds of silence passed between them.

"What are we going to do?!"

She turned and watched as David quickly stood up and paced towards the window.

"This is obviously not working for us. We're barely speaking to each other. If I had known that this would happen when I kissed you, I would've never even tried."

Heather shrugged, considering what he was saying.

"Then, if you hadn't, the whole 'what-if' factor would continue on for the rest of our lives and we'd pretend to be best friends when in secret we wished to be more and we'd never know if anything could have happened between us. I think we should be thanking you." Heather began to chuckle

David turned, hearing her laugh after she spoke.

"I don't know what you find so funny about this."

"I'm sorry," she said, attempting to stop giggling. "But you've always been too serious about things."

"This is serious though."

Finally, she nodded. "You're right. You don't know how many times I had dreamed about kissing you and wondered what it would've been like."

"And?"

Heather chuckled again. "It was better than I thought it would be."

She watched David cross his arms, trying his best to hide the smug smile that was forcing its way onto his face.

"Really?"

Heather saw right through it and laughed as he sat back down beside her.

"Now, don't let that get to your head, Mr. Wayne! I bet that nearly most of the women my age in Gotham dream about kissing you, not to mention other things that I don't even want to think about."

"Yeah, but they aren't you. I only care about what you think of me."

Heather smiled, feeling a light blush come to her cheeks as he spoke the words.

"What I think?"

He nodded.

Heather let out a sigh and a shrug.

"Well, the obvious; you're handsome, smart, supportive, kind...except for when you're playing a mean game of euchre."

David leaned back and let out a chuckle. He looked towards Heather as she turned towards him, continuing to talk.

"And I can tell you off and know that you'll still speak to me later. I know that I can trust you to be honest with me about things and not just sugar coat it to make me happy. You tell it like it is. You're frank."

"I'm frank!? You're so straightforward about things that if I didn't have you around I'm sure that the media would get to my head. I need you around just to pop it with your blatant statements."

He watched her smile fall, and he shook his head. David smiled and took her hands in his.

"That's a good thing. That's one of the things I love about you."

She didn't let go of his hands nor did a smile come to her face. Heather looked into his eyes.

"I love you too," she whispered. She paused for a moment. "And I'd kiss you right now if I hadn't been throwing up just a few hours ago."

David chuckled as Heather leaned back into him. He put an arm around her when he felt her head rest against his shoulder.

"I'd like to take you out tomorrow night," David suddenly said.

"David, I'm working tomorrow night."

"Yeah, I know. I can pick you up afterwards. It wont be anything fancy or extravagant. I'd like to spend some time with you."

"I'm afraid that after a shift of working at the hospital, I wouldn't be great for socializing," she said.

"Who said anythign about socializing?"

Heather scoffed and laughed before she mockingly punched David in the shoulder. He laughed right along with her just as a shadow caught the corner of his eye by the window. David turned and smirked before looking back down at the auburn head resting against him.

---------------

"You weren't spying on them were you?"

Bruce turned his head as he walked into his study, seeing his wife sitting casually on one of the leather arm chairs. She appeared to have just woken up and was wrapped in a housecoat.

"On whom?" he asked, innocently.

Olivia stood up and smirked as Bruce walked towards her. "You know exactly who I'm talking about. David called about a half hour ago wondering if you were home yet. He said that he had just dropped Heather back off at her place and thought that he had seen you on the balcony just a few minutes before they left."

Bruce shrugged as they walked side by side out of the study and towards the bedrooms. "I wouldn't call it spying."

"Really?"

"I was just taking a short rest before going back out."

----------------

The beeping of the hospital monitors barely echoed the sound of Heather's heels clicking against the clean floors of Dent Memorial. Once again, she knew she was late as she slid her hospital ID tag through one of the last doors before she'd walk out of the ER department where she was currently assigned.

"Have fun, Heather!" one of her fellow interns called out as the woman disappeared into one of the examination rooms. Heather smiled and waved as she passed by. She pushed her way through the large steel double doors and into the crowded ER waiting room. Thankfully it wasn't chaotic as everyone had already been through the triage and were simply waiting their turn to be seen by the doctors. Heather looked around the large room, hoping to catch David's eye somewhere.

"Dr. Tamarack," a young nurse said from the triage desk. "Uh, David Wayne was here. He was waiting for you."

"He was? Where is he now?"

"He said he'd wait for you outside on the park bench."

With a smile, Heather thanked the nurse before walking through the automatic doors. She looked around, seeing that the benches were empty. She began walking forward, towards the parking lot when she heard a voice directly behind her.

"You're late."

Heather sprang up nearly a foot in the air before swiftly turning around.

"David!" she exclaimed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

He smiled proudly at her. He looked better than he did the last time she saw him. He looked rested and was cleaned up. The blue jean pants and sweater over top of the dress shirt suited him perfectly. Heather was glad to see him with jeans on as she wasn't sure if dinner was going to be as casual as David had originally said it would be. She didn't have anything else with her to change into.

He smiled. "Well, it's a good thing we're still at the hospital."

A second later he pulled out a small bundle of flowers and handed them to her. "I hope this will smooth things over."

Heather gently held the flowers and smiled. She took his offered hand as he led her towards the car.

* * *

Heather hadn't eaten so much in one sitting for a long time. She was beginning to regret wearing a pair of jeans to dinner as her stomach space was limited. She sighed before taking another sip of water.

"This has been wonderful," she said. Both of them had enjoyed the conversation and Heather was quite surprised with how alert she was at that time of night.

"I know that it is late, but I was wondering if you'd like to come back to my place after for dessert," David said, gently taking her hand.

Heather nodded and smiled. "I'd like that."

Just as the words came out of her mouth, Heather could hear David's ring tone of his cell phone coming from his pocket. With a quick apology, he pulled it out of his pocket and excused himself for a moment to answer it. Heather watched as he walked towards the front of the restaurant and stood still as he listened to the caller. Casually, she took a sip of water as she continued to watch him. Less than twenty seconds into the call and he hung up. He walked back to the table, his face withdrawn. When he didn't sit back down in his chair, Heather knew for certain that something wasn't right.

"I'm sorry to do this Heather, but I have to go."

"You have to go?"

"Yeah," he said, as he inwardly kicked himself. "Something has come up and I need to go right now."

She wasn't sure if she should be confused, hurt or angry. Heather watched in stunned silence as he opened his wallet and pulled out bills to pay for the supper and then handed her a fifty dollar bill along with a business card.

"Call this number," he said. "It's a limo firm that Wayne Enterprises works with and they'll be able to bring you home."

"David, what's going on?"

He paused, before shoving his wallet back into his back pocket.

"Nothing," he said after a brief moment. "I just need to go."

And with that, she watched him walk out of the restaurant.

* * *

David quickly called home the moment he sat back down behind the wheel of the Camero. It only rang twice before he heard Allison's voice on the phone once again.

"What do you mean, Dad's been shot?!" he exclaimed, trying to drive as quickly as he could through the city towards Wayne Manor without getting caught. "And for your sake, you had better not be playing a game with me right now."

"Damn it, David! I'm not!"

He could hear that Allison herself had been crying and was on the verge of hysterics.

"Just listen to me," she said, trying to calm herself down. "Mom said to call you to say that Dad had been shot. That's all I know."

"Where is Mom?"

"She's down in the cave right now and Alfred is there as well."

David unconsciously pressed his foot firmer on the gas, not even bothering to check his speed as he veered around traffic. Every possible image of his Dad laying on the cold damp floor of the cave while a pool of blood seeped from his body flooded his mind.

He couldn't have been shot. He's Batman.

David played that over in his mind like a mantra. The man who he had grown to believe to be invincible was instantly brought down to the level of mere mortals with one gunshot.

David skidded the car as he flew onto the property and slammed on the brakes as he approached the house. The moment the car stopped, he was out and running towards the front door. He burst through the front doors and rushed towards the study, only to nearly collide into his Mom, Allison and Alfred.

"Where is he?!"

David's eyes were wild with adrenaline but behind them, he was afraid. Seeing both Olivia and Alfred in the house could only mean one thing. He braced himself for whatever news they were going to tell him.

"He's not here," Alfred finally said.

David shook his head, confused. "What?" He looked to Allison, instantly feeling anger at being misled. "I was told that he had been shot."

Olivia nodded. "He was. Batman called in twenty minutes ago reporting that he had gotten a flesh wound due to a gun shot and was on his way home. Ten minutes later the detonation sequence for the Batpod came up on the computer screen in the cave followed by loosing all verbal contact with him."

"Do you know where he is?"

Alfred nodded as he walked past David. "I'm going to go and get him."

David tried not to let out a mock laugh. "You!?"

Alfred could hear it in David's voice.

"Need I remind you, Master David, that when Master Bruce is away from this house, he has put me in charge of keeping this family safe," Alfred said sternly. "Master Bruce would not want either yourself, your sister or your Mother to risk your lives to go after him."

David crossed his arms, looking over at his Mom before back at Alfred. "You can't be serious!?"

"I most certainly am."

David watched as Alfred pulled out a set of keys and began to put on his coat.

"This is bullshit!" David exclaimed, as he walked over to Alfred. "There is no way in hell that I'm going to sit back and let you go out after him on your own. Tell me where he is and I'll get him."

Alfred stared into the eyes of the man standing in front of him and felt those of Bruce's looking right back at him. "No."

David sighed.

"Then let me help," David said, deciding to tap into his business experience on negotiating. "Two heads are better than one. I can do the physical work and you can do the mental stuff. I'm about the same size as my Dad. I can put on one of his extra suits and no one would ever know it's me. You can tell me over a headset from here on where to go. No one gets hurt with overdoing it and no identities are revealed."

Alfred paused, thinking over the proposal that David had thrown at him. Finally, he nodded.

"We had better hurry."


	8. Chapter 8

David felt himself gasp as the Tumbler literally flew threw the curtain of water, only to land safely on the other side and continue on the path. He knew that it would, but the feeling of adrenaline only heightened the experience. He looked down at the centre console when he saw a button began to flash. He quickly pushed it.

"Go ahead," he said aloud.

"I'm sending you the location of where we lost contact with the Batpod once it had been destroyed with the self-destruct," Alfred said, his voice only being heard in David's ears. "The computer lost contact with Batman at the moment of the self-destruct so it's a possibility that he was near the blast at the time."

David let out an inaudible sigh as he looked down at the GPS map appear on the screen beside him with a small red dot marking the map. "Okay."

"Don't worry Master David," Alfred said. "I will be with you the entire time."

David had to smile. "What makes you think I'm worried?"

"You're quiet," Alfred replied. "I know you well enough."

David chuckled lightly before he changed the subject.

"That's on the east side of the city near the Wayne Enterprises shipping yard. What was he doing over there?"

"Perhaps he was trying to get to the safety of the bunker," Alfred suggested, and decided to say more than he wanted, but knew that David needed to know. "He also mentioned that he was going to investigate a lead he received from a gang member the night before on the man who might have had a part in the explosion at the fair after he found out that he was also involved with the fire at the store."

David was surprised.

"What?!...why didn't he say anything about this?!"

"He has his reasons."

David shook his head while accelerating his speed as he entered the city limits.

He slowed down once he reached the location the GPS was telling him. He came to a stop and opened the roof of the tumbler. It was quiet. All he could hear were the occasional sounds of seagulls squawking in the sky and sirens in the distance. David stood up, momentarily stepping on the cape that caught in the wind behind him.

"What do you see?" Alfred's voice asked softly in David's ear causing him to pay attention to what was around him.

"Nothing," he replied, as he climbed out of the tumbler, carefully glancing around him as he moved into the shadows. "Nothing at all."

"The computer is saying that you're within fifty meters of the batpod."

David looked up at the building beside him before he reached onto his belt for the grappler. He fired it off and quickly made his way to the top of the building. With a sigh, he looked around the other buildings and he towards the river, which he could now see. A sound caught his ear and David quietly walked to the other side of the building. He looked down.

------------------

"I found another," the teenager said, jogging up to a larger man. "That makes, what? Five?"

They laid out the various pieces of weapons which David quickly recognized as those that Batman carried on his hip and belt.

"Go see if you can find more," the large man said, excitedly. "I don't even know if they sell this kind of crap on the black market, cause I never seen anything like it before. Might be worth a pretty penny to the right buyer."

The young teen seemed just as excited as he quickly turned and ran down the alley from the way he had just came. David raced along the side of the building, following the path of the teenager until he reached the end of the roof. With a deep breath, David jumped off the building and dropped down into the alleyway in front of the boy. The kid slid onto the concrete as he tried to stop himself from flying into the dark figure in front of him. He quickly turned and attempted to stand up and run off, but instead felt a secure hand grab hold of his collar.

The boy screamed as loud as he could. It didn't even phase David as he turned and held the kid against the brick wall.

"Where were you going?!" David growled, mimicking a voice that was oddly familiar to him.

"No where!"

"Where did you find those weapons!?"

"In...in...a heap of charred, scrap metal just beyond the fence at the shipping docks."

"HEY! Tim!? You alright?"

David didn't turn his head when he heard the larger man call out towards them.

"Help me, man! The Batman's got me!"

In a quick movement, David quickly swung the kid into the ground before shooting off the grappler once again towards the rooftop and disappeared out of sight just as the larger man appeared, his gun cocked and ready.

"Where is he?" David heard the man say from below. He raced back towards where the two had the weapons. He quickly picked them up and took off into the shadows towards the shipping docks.

The charred metal was still warm when he arrived. He noticed that most, if not all, of the remains of the batpod had burned. Thankfully, that was all that was there.

David sighed, as he looked around.

"He's not here, Alfred," he said softly, as he heard a rhythmic squeaking sound. He turned around and saw the old warehouse metal door moving slowly back and forth with the breeze off the river. David ran towards it and felt his stomach turn when he saw blood on the door handle. "I might have found him."

He slipped inside the door and slowly walked through the building, trying to remain in the shadows along the wall. It was large and for the most part, empty. Finally, David heard a sound. A groan. Up ahead he saw a dark object resting against the wall. David raced over to Batman and quickly knelt down, noticing that Batman had his eyes closed.

"I found him," David said quickly. "And he's alive." He noticed the bullet wound to Batman's right left shoulder and could only imagine the blood loss around it. David was thankful that they were in the dark. He quickly unlocked the cape off from around his shoulder and pressed it against Batman's shoulder. He watched as Batman slowly opened his eyes, slightly confused.

"I must be hallucinating," he mumbled.

David reached forward and tied the cape around Batman's arm before going to his right side to hoist him up.

"Don't you wish you were," David said, with a slight chuckle. "I'm gonna bring you home, but I could use a little help getting you off the ground."

Even in his slight daze and weakened state, Batman pushed up off the ground enough that David could partially drag Batman out of the building. He reached down to his belt and presed the control to bring the tumbler to his location.

"I need...I need...tell," Batman mumbled. "...trouble."

"You can tell me how much trouble I'm in later on," David stated as he pushed the metal door open with his shoulder while grunting to carry Batman's weight out the door to the waiting Tumbler.

The effort to get Batman into the Tumbler was exhausting to the point that Batman had passed out somewhere along the line. David let out a deep breath as he sat down in the drivers seat and started up the Tumbler for home.

"How is he?" Alfred's voice said in the Tumbler.

David glanced over at his Dad. "Unconscious and loosing a lot of blood."

"Get him home quickly, sir."

"As quickly as I can."

* * *

David finally took off the cowl once he had finished helping to bring his Dad up above ground and into his bedroom. Alfred insisted that he'd feel more comfortable dealing with injuries as serious as what Bruce had if he was at least in the warmth and cleanliness of the house. David had left to go back into the cave to change once he realized he was no longer needed. His hair was matted with sweat. He was about to jump into the shower in the cave when he heard the frantic voice of his Mom call down into the cave from the upper level of the lift. David quickly pulled on his shorts and shirt and raced out where he could see her.

"David, get up here now!"

Hearing the urgency in his Mom's voice, he quickly jumped into the lift.

He wasn't even certain that he heard the words his Mom say next. "Alfred needs you to call Heather."

"Heather? Why?"

Olivia let out a sigh. She was afraid. "He says that the bullet is still in his shoulder and he's afraid with his sight that he might hit an artery. We can't risk bringing him to a hospital. Heather is our only option."

"What am I supposed to tell her?"

Olivia put her hand on David's. "Anything but the truth."

* * *

Heather had barely fell asleep when the phone beside her began to ring. She glanced at the digital clock and sighed. It was 12:14am and she was switching shifts to days and was supposed to be up at six to start her shift at seven. She groaned when she recognized the number as David's cell phone. After the fifth ring, she decided to pick it up.

"Hello?" she said, less than exuberant.

"Heather? It's David."

"I know," she stated.

"I need your help."

"That's nice."

"No, I'm serious. I need you to come out to Wayne Manor."

Heather couldn't help but let out a mock laugh. She was still bitter and angry over what had happened earlier in the night. He left her, high and dry at the restaurant and now he was wanting her to come out to Wayne Manor.

"I have to work in the morning and you're wanting me to come out to Wayne Manor? For what, exactly?"

There was a pause.

"My Dad is hurt."

The mention of Mr. Wayne being injured caused her to sit up a little. The man was just as much a father to her as he was to David and Allison since her parents moved to Metropolis.

"What happened?"

"It's a long, complicated story," David quickly replied. "But I need you to come out."

"If it's as bad as your implying, why don't you bring him to a hospital?"

"I can't say," David replied. "For many reasons." She heard him sigh. "Please, Heather."

As stupid as she was feeling at that moment, she swung her legs over the edge of her bed and pulled on her socks.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Thank you so much."

A moment later, she hung up and soon after found herself driving towards Wayne Manor in Kate's car.

-------------

Heather had no idea what to expect when she pulled in front of Wayne Manor. For the most part, the house seemed dark. But as she stepped out of her car wearing her pajamas and wrapped in a jacket, the lights at the door turned on and David appeared on the steps.

She said nothing as he opened the door, allowing her to walk in. Heather pulled off her coat and took off her shoes.

"He's upstairs," David said, softly, taking her coat to hang on the hooks.

She walked up the stairs beside David and down the hall. Neither said a word as they walked towards the master bedroom. As they approached, Heather could hear voices coming from the room ahead. She followed David into the room and stopped, frozen in her tracks when she saw Bruce Wayne laying unconscious on the bed. Her eyes momentarily ignored the scattered bruises on his torso and fell onto the horrible looking wound on his shoulder. It had been covered with gauze, as blood continued to ooze through the fibers of the fabric. It wasn't until Alfred touched her arm that she turned to him.

"I need your help," he said softly, looking back at Bruce. "The bullet is still in his shoulder and with my eyes, I can't see it well enough to not further injure Master Bruce."

Bullet?

The word hit her like a brick.

"A bullet? He was shot? How did this happen? Why isn't he in the hospital?"

She looked from Olivia to Allison and then to Alfred. No one answered the questions. Instead, David put his hand on Heather's back and walked with her towards the bed.

"We need your help," he said, echoing Alfred's words that he said moments before. "My Dad needs your help."

She looked down at Bruce, the man whom she had come to know over the years like an uncle and more recently, as a father figure. Finally, she shook her head, feeling tears come to her eyes.

"I can't."

"You can," David whispered.

She turned to him. "You don't understand. I have never removed a bullet from someone before. I've done stitches, taken care of sick patients and I was lucky enough last week to be able to scrub in on a routine appendectomy, but I never held the scalpel. I'm just an intern."

"But you can do this."

"There are so many things that can go wrong," Heather said, turning back to look at Bruce. "What if I can't find it? What if I hit his artery? I mean, just by the look of it, it's awfully close. Besides, I don't have anything here to do it."

"Excuse me, Miss Tamarack," Alfred began. "But I have everything you'd need right here. I have already administered a sedative."

Heather let out a nervous sigh, knowing that she was Bruce's only hope. As much as everyone in the room had faith in her, she couldn't trust her own hands.

Finally, Heather reached to remove the gauze. She paused and momentarily looked at Bruce as he laid there. The wound was nasty and a large bruise was forming around it. She sat down on the edge of the bed beside him and held out her hand towards Alfred who promptly placed a pair of small medical forceps in her hand. Heather looked up at David and towards Olivia as she sat on the other side of Bruce. Allison stood just behind her.

She took a deep breath and steadied her hand before gently searching the wound for the bullet. Heather grimaced as she carefully felt around for the metal shell, praying that she didn't cause more damage than the bullet had already caused. She was glad to see that it hadn't touched his artery. Heather didn't realize that she was holding her breath until she felt the forceps hit something foreign. Slowly, she grabbed ahold of it and pulled out the forceps. Within the tiny grib of the metal surgical pliers she held the bloodied bullet. A smile came to her face.

Alfred quickly appeared at her side and held out a bowl to drop the medical instrument and bullet into. With a smile, Alfred handed her a needle and thread.

"Care to finish the job?"

With a smile, Heather began to sew up the wound. When she had finished, she stood up and walked into the bathroom to wash her hands. When she walked back out, the room was empty except for the sleeping Mr. Wayne and his wife. She watched as Olivia sat beside Bruce and lovingly ran her hands over his brow and leaned down to kiss his lips. Feeling a little out of place, she quietly excused herself and made her way towards the door but not until Olivia called her name. Heather stopped.

"Thank you," Olivia said, softly with a smile.

"My pleasure."

Heather walked out the door and nearly bumped into David who had been waiting in the hallway.

"I'll walk you out to your car."

"You don't need to," Heather said. "I know my way around here."

"I know. It's the least I could do. Afterall, you did help save my Dad's life."

Heather said nothing but nodded.

"I know that you're angry with me," David said as they walked down the stairs. "And I don't blame you. It was rude of me to leave you at the restaurant."

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Heather stopped and caught David by the arm, making him stop as well.

"I understand if you left because of what happened with your Dad," she began. "But you could have at least told me what was going on, rather than leave me like that. I would've understood if you had to go because your Dad was shot." She paused for a moment. "How did that happen anyways?"

"Uh...I really don't know. I didn't really get a chance to talk to my Mom about it."

They continued to walk towards the front door. David waited as Heather pulled on her shoes and slipped on her coat. He opened the door and followed her down the stone steps to the car waiting in the driveway.

"Thank you so much for coming out tonight," David said once she stopped in front of her car door. "I didn't know who else to call. I'm sorry for what happened earlier tonight. Would it be possible to reschedule something?"

He watched smile grew on Heather's face.

"I was hoping for something a little more private this time around though," David said, thoughtfully. "Dinner at the penthouse. I'll make it myself."

"You? Make dinner?"

David shrugged. "My Mom and Alfred aren't the only cooks in the family!"

Heather nodded, as David took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on it. He reached around her and opened the car door just as Heather wrapped her arm around his neck. With a giggle at seeing David's surprised expression, she kissed him on his lips, letting her lips linger gently on them for a few brief moments more before she broke the kiss. Without saying another word, she slipped into the car and closed the door, before rolling down the window. She smirked at David before taking off up the drive.

* * *

"He's waking!" David announced down the hallway before rushing back to see his Dad break free into consciousness. A few seconds later, Alfred and Olivia appeared in the room. Olivia immediately went up to him and gently took his hand.

"Bruce?"

She watched as his eyes fought against the brightness of the room and the fatigue in his body. He could hear Olivia's voice.

"Bruce, wake up."

He had to wake up. As the memories of the night prior flooded back to him along with the dull pain in his shoulder, Bruce struggled to not only open his eyes but also speak the words that he wanted to say. He realized that he must have said something since he heard Olivia gently 'shush' him and encouraged him to not speak. Finally he peeked out through the smallest slits of his eye lids and could see his beautiful wife sitting right beside him.

"You're all right," she assurred him. He looked past her and saw his grown son, standng with his arms crossed over his chest, looking more like a mirror image of himself everyday.

"I..."

"It's okay Bruce, don't talk."

He closed his eyes once again and shook his head, frustrated. Finally, his mouth was able to form a word. "Allison."

"Allison is at school this morning," Olivia told him.

Once again he shook his head, pinching his eyes shut. He knew that he was incapable of doing anything. Fear was in his eyes.

"Joker!" he finally exclaimed, his voice hoarse and weak. He didn't even have enough strength to keep his eyes open. "He's going to kill her and Heather."

David's ears perked up as he stepped forward while hearing his Dad speak.

Olivia quickly spun around, looking up at David. He was already thinking. "Heather is at the hospital today."

At that moment, Alfred walked in, rather quickly. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there is something on television that you have to see."

The screen was filled with an aerieal shot of a building with a headline racing across the bottom of the screen. 'Bomb Threat'. David and Olivia instantly recognized the building. Allison's school.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N - This one's longer than usual. Your reviews and alerts pushed me to get this out sooner. Tell me what you think...

-------------

David looked at the television for another brief second before he backed up and turned on his heel, quickly heading towards the door. He glanced over at his Dad as exhaustion and the remains of the sedative caused him to fall back asleep. As he turned into the hallway, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. David turned, looking down into his Mother's eyes.

"David, wait."

He rolled his eyes, already knowing what she was about to say. "Mom, I can sit here and let the police just do their job. Allison is in obvious trouble and my guess is that Heather isn't safe either. If Dad is right about this being the work of Joker, then I'm not going to sit around and do nothing."

He watched a small smile appear on her face.

"You know, each time I see you it seems that you're not just looking more like your Dad, but you're acting more like him all the time." She sighed. "I'm not telling you to do nothing. I want you to go pick up Heather and bring her here. I'll get Allison from school."

David opened his mouth to protest, but Olivia caught him to the punch.

"Alfred will look after Bruce. Besides, you can't be in two places at once. If there's a bomb threat at the school, chances are that something is happening at the hospital right now as well. If I remember correctly, Joker seems to enjoy these kind of games."

"What about you?"

She smirked, before they quickly walked down the hallway towards the front door. "I'll be fine."

* * *

5 Minutes prior

The halls were empty.

Allison peeked around the corner, not willing to look at the body of one of her classmates laying on the floor as a pool of blood slowly grew around him. There was no one there and she let out a sigh of relief before quickly racing down the hallway and pushing open the door to the mezzanine. She made sure to keep herself low to the ground so no one could see her from the gymnasium below. Finally, she took refuge behind a stack of chairs in the corner of the mezzanine. She let out a shaky sigh as she pulled her legs up towards her chest.

After less than a minute, she startled when she heard the loud sound of her cell phone alerting her to an incoming text message. Quickly and quietly, she opened her phone to read it and made certain that she turned the phone to vibrate before she did anything else. The message was from her friend, Jen.

_HIDE! They here for u. B told them where u went._

Brandon told them where she was? After she saw him last in the computer class, he promised he'd make sure that he'd find her in the school, only to find out that he betrayed her. But now, the fact that whoever was in the school was looking for her scared the crap out of her.

Allison managed to type in three letters while her fingers shook nervously. _WHO?_

Her answer came soon after. _Clowns._

Allison tried her best to calm her breathing as best as she could as her anxiety level shot up. She quickly regretting leaving her puffers in her locker.

The sound of someone below opening the gymnasium doors echoed in the large room. Allison covered her mouth. She heard footsteps followed by the sound of someone begin whistle a tune before beginning to sing.

"The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed that spider out."

Less than second later, gunfire echoed around the gymnasium. Allison covered her ears as water began to pour down from the sprinklers over head.

"No need to hide, my dear," the voice called out again. "We're like old friends, except we've never met. Your Dad and I though, we go way back. I saw him yesterday and he wasn't looking too good."

Allison had to get out of there. She crawled along the floor as fast as she could as the water continued to fall from the ceiling. She heard the man sigh.

"I really don't want to do this, but just remember you gave me no choice," he said. A moment later, she heard the sound of a man begging as he was dragged into the gymnasium. Allison instantly recognized the voice as that of her English Lit. teacher, Mr. Hopkins. She froze, hearing the man beg for his life. Tears came down her face, knowing that he was there because of her. She had to get out of there. She glanced at the door near the end of the mezzanine and quickly stood up and ran for it.

The man must have seen her cause he quickly called out, "There!"

A gunshot rang out behind her as the door closed and Allison screamed while running down the empty hallway. Back in the gymnasium, Mr. Hopkins fell to the ground at the man's feet.

Allison nearly slid to a stop as she rounded a corner while heading towards the front doors, seeing two men with clown masks over their faces. She quickly turned and ran into a body. She felt a cloth being placed over her face, and she kicked and punched as much as she could until everything around her went dark. The man walked up to the others in the masks and looked down at the unconscious girl as she was being held up by her arms.

"Everything is ready," another clown said as he walked up from behind them.

"Then let's get out of her before the police arrive," the man said, as the group walked right out the front doors of the private school, leaving 6 dead in their wake, many frightened and trapped students and a call that a fake bomb was in the building.

* * *

"Damn it," Olivia exclaimed, hearing Allison's cell phone go directly to her voice mail. The road leading up to the school was blocked with police, newscrews and eager parents wanting to see their children. Olivia decided to pull over along the curb.

She climbed out and walked towards the school just as the police were allowing the students and teachers out of the building. Olivia stood on her toes, trying to see around the crowd of people and looking for that familiar brown haired girl. Her anxiety rose as she watched student after student come out of the school with no sign of Allison. Finally, the last members of the school faculty came out. Olivia pushed her way through the crowd towards the taped line.

Her heart sank as she watched stretchers being pulled out of the building with sheets or plastic covering them.

_No!_ her mind screamed. Without another thought, she pulled up the police tape and walked towards the waiting ambulances.

"Hey! You can't be here!" an officer shouted in her direction. He ran towards her. "You need to leave!"

"I'm looking for my daughter!"

Commissoner Gordon heard the shouts and looked in their direction. He quickly walked towards Olivia and stepped in front of her, before excusing the other officer.

"What are you doing here?" he asked softly.

"I can't find Allison."

This time, it was Gordon who looked worried. "She didn't come out?"

Olivia shook her head.

"Well, I can assure you that she's not one of the fatalities. Did she come to school today? Maybe she's skipping?"

Olivia shook her head once again. "I can assure you that she was brought to school this morning."

He turned and walked with Olivia back towards the police line. "I'll do what I can here to see if I can track her down. In the meantime, I'd suggest keeping this low profile. We wouldn't want this to get out to the media."

Olivia nodded, taking his suggestion. "Of course."

"I'll let you know if I find out anything."

"Thank you Commissioner."

* * *

The ER couldn't have been busier that day. Every triage bed was full and the waiting room was finally beginning to dwindle down.

Heather took a moment and rubbed the back of her neck as she leaned over the desk to read up on the chart for the next patient.

_Possible bladder infection. Lovely_, she thought.

"There's a call for you Heather," the nurse at the desk said.

"Can you tell them that I'm busy?"

"I did," she replied. "He's saying it's urgent."

With a sigh, Heather tucked the chart under her arm and reached for the phone.

"This is Dr. Tamarack."

"_Heather!_"

"David? Is something wrong? Is it your Dad?"

"_No no_," he replied. "_He's fine. I was just checking on you."_

"Me?"

_"Yeah, I'm going to come pick you up."_

"David, I'm working," she said, surprised.

_"I know but this is really important_," he said. "_You can't stay at the hospital right now_."

She chuckled.

"David, I'm busy right now. The ER is over flowing."

"_You're in danger._"

She paused. "Is this some sort of joke?"

"_No joke_," he replied. "_You need to leave the hospital. I'll be there to pick you up in less than five minutes._"

"David, I told you, I can't leave. I'll call you back later."

Before he had a chance to say another word, she hung up. David pressed his foot harder onto the accelerator of the Lamborghini and sped towards the hospital.

------------

Heather pushed aside a curtain of one of the triage beds and pulled it closed behind her. She looked up at her patient with a smile. When she noticed the man holding a piece of bloody gauze against part of his face, her smile faded. She looked down at her chart, realizing that this was most likely not the one with the bladder infection.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking back at the man in front of her. "I must have the wrong chart. I'll be right back."

She turned to walk back out when the man grabbed her by the arm. She looked back at him, seeing that the gauze was no longer on his face. His face appeared to be fine. But what concerned her the most was that he held a knife in the other hand.

"You have the right chart," the man said softly, as he placed a finger to his lips indicating to her to keep quiet, before he slid off the bed.

-------------

David quickly pulled the car alongside the curb of the ER entrance and raced through the doors. He stood at the desk and waited impatiently for the receptionist to get off the phone. David tapped his fingers nervously on the desk as he glanced around the waiting room. It didn't seem like something dangerous was happening and there was no sign of the Joker. The woman hung up the phone and watched David with annoyance as he continued to tap his fingers.

"Can I help you?" the woman finally asked, catching David's attention.

"Yes," he said. "I'm here to see Dr. Tamarack."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, she's a friend of mine. I was coming by to see her."

The woman sighed and told him that it would be a minute as she picked up the phone to call the ER triage room.

Once again, David waited anxiously for Heather to walk through the double doors. He waited, and he waited. Finally, he went back to the receptionist.

"Where is she?"

"I called down and they said they'd give her the message."

David sighed, knowing that she was most likely ignoring his suggestion to leave the hospital. Instead of waiting, he pushed through the double doors, hearing the protest of the receptionist behind him as he walked into the busy triage room. He looked around, seeing at least a half dozen doctors walking around, but couldn't see Heather at all. He finally stopped one of the doctors.

"Where's Heather Tamarack?"

"Heather?" the young doctor replied, as the receptionist came up to them.

"You can't be in here, sir," the receptionist said.

David looked from the doctor to the receptionist. "I'm just looking for Dr. Tamarack. Where is she?"

"She was here a few minutes ago, checking on a patient on bed four," the doctor said, looking in that direction. The curtain was closed, yet no feet could be seen from beneath. He walked up to the curtain and pulled it wide open, revealing an empty bed and an abandonned chart on the table beside it.

Just as confused, the doctor turned to a nurse as she walked by. "Where did Heather go?"

"She left the ER with her patient," the nurse replied. "She said that she had to get blood work done for the guy. She took him with her."

The doctor shook his head. "Why didn't she just have a lab tech come down here?"

The nurse shrugged.

"She was very insistent on doing it herself. The poor man looked like a mess with the gauze on his face."

David turned to the doctor. "Where is the lab?"

"Down the hall, and second door to the right."

David quickly walked down there, feeling the pit in his stomach grow with each step. He saw the sign on the door marked for the lab and pushed it open, finding it empty. He backed up and ran his hand over his face. Heather was missing.

--------------

3 Hours later

The smell was nauseating. The room was damp.

It was the first thing that Allison noticed when she woke up. Next was the cold metal that held her wrists together as it was entwined with the steel pipe that ran along the side of the wall. She strained to see in the dimly lit room and noticed a body sitting a few feet away from her, bound the same way as herself. It took a moment for Allison to recognize who she was as it wasn't very often that she saw Heather in scrubs. Her hair was also no longer in the loose pony tail she usually had and instead it fell around her face. Stretching as far as she could with her feet, Allison nudged Heather's leg.

"Heather! Wake up!" she whispered, her voice echoing slightly in the room.

When Heather didn't move, she did it again. This time, Heather startled as she woke. She looked up, seeing the familiar young girl in front of her before noticing the metal cuffs around her wrists.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Allison shrugged. "I have no idea but I'm not liking this."

"Neither am I," Heather agreed.

Both of them jumped and turned towards the large metal door as it slowly squeaked open and let in the light from outside the room. Heather squinted against the bright light as a figure walked into the room. She could just make out the outline of his body. She watched as the figure looked at each of them before letting out an audible, "hmm".

He clapped his hand once as he walked further into the room.

"It's about time you two woke up," the man said. "Now it's time to have a little fun."

Heather's face paled as she realized the voice she was hearing was the same as she had heard in the parking lot of the store. He motioned to the men behind him to unlock Allison's restraints before pulling her to her feet before turning and working on those around Heather's wrists. Once she was pulled to stand, she got a glimse of the man in front of her for the first time. On all accounts, he was supposed to be dead. She was just a young girl when the newspapers and televisions reported it those many years ago, but there was no denying that the man in front of her was the Joker.

"We meet again, my dear," Joker said, lightly tracing his knife along her cheek. "And you never kept up your end of the bargain. You went ahead and told the Wayne's about our little encounter."

"I didn't," Heather said boldly, yet quietly.

Joker stepped back and squinted. "I might be getting a little old but I can still know a lier when I see them and you're it." He glanced over at Allison. "But it seems like you've been in good company when it comes to lying. That's something the Wayne's are good at. Am I right?"

He smiled sadistically at Allison. She merely glared at the man in front of him. He chuckled. "I can tell which side of the family your knack for lack of conversation comes from. Your old man was never a talker. How is he doing anyways?"

Heather was confused with the conversation, but was too afraid to even attempt to try to make the Joker's words make sense in her mind. Before they knew it, they were being led down a maze of dark, wet hallways. The occasional screach of a rodent made it's way to their ears. Finally, they stopped and one of Joker's men opened up a large metal grate off the floor which covered a hole in the ground.

"In you go!"

Heather didn't even have a chance to catch her balance when she was pushed towards the hole. She felt her stomach do a loop as she fell in the darkness, not sure when she would hit the bottom or what she'd hit. As quickly as he pushed her, she splashed onto the floor. A moment later, Allison fell in, landing on her bottom with a splash. The sound of laughter echoed it's way into the space they now stood. With a loud crash, the grate fell back down followed swiftly by the sound of a drill.

"HEY!" Heather called out. "Let us out of here!"

The footsteps slowly quieted until they could no longer hear them. They couldn't see a thing. Heather could hear splashing as Allison stood up awkwardly with her hands still bound in front of her. They both felt for the walls of their confined space.

"Where are we?" Allison finally asked, her voice soft.

Heather sighed, feeling the cold cement walls around them. They were standing in a good foot of water and the sound of drips could be heard in the small room. "I have no idea."

Allison leaned against the wall and felt something hit her from behind. She gasped when she realized what it was.

"My cellphone!" she exclaimed. "I have my cell phone on me still. I assumed they took it."

"Where is it?"

"My back pocket. But I can't reach it like this."

Heather felt along the wall until she came up beside Allison. She quickly felt her back until she found the small cell phone. Being careful to not drop it, she pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to Allison. The young girl quickly turned it on, the light illuminating the room.

"It works!"

* * *

Bruce wasn't in bed.

David sighed as he turned to leave the room. His Mom had obviously returned from the school as her car was in the garage, but neither she, nor Alfred or Bruce could be found. Knowing the situation they were in, he knew where they were.

He jogged down the stairs and quickly walked towards the grand piano to press the odd chords to open the hidden passage.

He could hear their voices long before he even made it down to the ground level of the cave. There was his Dad, sitting in his robe in the chair in front of his two computer monitors with his arm in a sling. His Mom and Alfred stood directly behind him, interested in the information he had found ont he computer.

"Heather's missing," he announced, causing the three to turn towards him.

Bruce let out a sigh. "So is Allison. The Joker must have them."

"You said the Joker. Did you actually see him?"

"I saw him like I'm seeing you right now," Bruce replied. "It was no ghost that shot me in the shoulder at point blank." He turned back to the computer monitors. "And according to the report on the Joker's alleged death seventeen years ago, his body was so mangled and his face so tattered that they only had clothing, and eyewitness accounts to base their assumptions that the body was infact that of the Joker."

"And you're thinking it's not," David concluded as Bruce nodded. "Where does that leave Allison and Heather? You said that he was going to kill them."

Bruce looked to Alfred who reached for an envelope. "This was delivered to the house earlier today."

David pulled it out and read the crudely written letter.

"'The maker makes it but doesn't use it. The buyer buys it but doesn't need it. The two who'll needs it will never know it.  
What is it?'" He paused for a moment as the answer came to his mind and he shook his head. "That's sick."

"You figured it out?" Olivia asked, astonishly.

He shrugged. "It's a coffin. It wasn't too hard."

"It took us a few minutes to figure it out."

David looked up at the monitors. "Any idea where they might be?"

"No clue," Bruce said. "But I have a few ideas on where you can start looking. With night coming, it's better that you find them sooner than later."

David wasn't sure if he heard his Dad correctly. "Me? You want me to go out looking for them?"

Bruce grinned and glanced down at his arm as it was held close to his chest in a sling. "Well, I'm not going to be going out anytime soon. And from what Alfred tells me, you fit the suit quite well."

David looked suspiciously from Bruce to Olivia and then to Alfred behind them. "Is he still medicated right now?"

Bruce chuckled. "I'm serious. You're the only one who can find them. You proved it to me when you came after me."

"Problem is, where do I start?"

* * *

Allison fumbled with the cell phone between her cuffed hands, trying to press the appropriate buttons without having the device slip through her fingers. Heather looked down at her feet, now that they could see a little with the light from the cell phone. The water was cold and was nearly to their knees.

"Is it my imagination or is the water level rising?"

Allison paused for a moment and glanced down, with a sigh and nodded. Heather joined her.

"That's what I thought."

"I think I got it," Allison said, awkwardly putting her phone to her ear. They both waited, anticipating an answer.

"Dad!" she finally exclaimed. Heather couldn't believe it. She was shocked.

"Your Dad?! You called your Dad?! What about calling 911, huh?"

Allison glared at Heather and shushed her before listening over the phone.

"I'm fine. Heather is here too. I don't know where we are."

-----------------

David turned, hearing the phone line come alive in the cave. There were a few people who had access to that number and there was only one person missing who had that number. Bruce leaned forward quicker than he should have and grimaced as he answered the call.

"Allison?" he said aloud just as his daughter's voice came from the computers in front of them. "Are you all right? Where are you?"

Bruce reached across the computer. "I'm going to find you through your cell phone signal."

"_You're going to have to hurry_," she said. "_My battery is low_."

"Can you give me an idea of where you might be then?"

"Definietely underground," she replied. "A sewer maybe. It's slowly filling with water."

Olivia could hear the anxiety in the young girls voice as she spoke about the water. She kept her own fears in check as she spoke aloud.

"Everything will be all right sweetheart," she said. "David's here and your Dad will find out where you are and then he'll have David find you."

"David?"

-----------------

Heather looked up from where she leaned against the wall. Was he there? She looked at Allison and silently asked, to which Allison nodded. Heather held out her bound hands and asked to talk to him. With a slight grin, Allison nodded and handed the phone to Heather.

"David?"

Her voice was weak. She wasn't sure if it was knowing the prospect that she was about to drown in this underground cellar or knowing that she would never see him again without telling him the truth.

"I'm here," he said.

"I know that it must sound silly, but I just had to hear your voice one last time."

She heard David chuckle. "Don't talk like that. We're going to get you help. There is probably a bunch of police officers not too far right now and they'll be there before you know it."

It was her turn to chuckle. "David; always the optomist. That's what I love about you." She paused for a moment, feeling tears come to her eyes. "And I do love you."

David looked at the computer in front of him as he listened to her voice. The computers were close to finding their exact location. He stood up straight and ooked back up at the cave wall when he heard her tell him that she loved him. He smiled.

"I love you too."

The cell phone beeped as water began to rush into the small confined space. Heather and Allison gasped as the cold water rose to their waist before calming down.

Bruce, Olivia, David and Alfred became increasingly concerned, when they heard Allison cry out and Heather's voice disappear for a moment from the cell phone. David could feel his heart begin to race, as he began to slowly panic not knowing what was going on.

"Heather? Heather?!"

Nothing. And then suddenly, she was back.

"I'm here," she said, out of breath. "Damn it! This water is cold and it seems that the cell phone battery is on it's final lag. But I have to tell you something before that happens." She took an unsteady breath as she tried to keep her voice from wavering in the cold. "I've been so stupid."

"You're not stupid."

"For someone to reject a perfectly good marriage proposal would have to be stupid, or crazy," she said, with a scoff. "That night has been playing over in my mind since that day and if I could go back, I wouldn't have refused. If I ever get the chance to hear you say those words again, I'd accept."

Davis stared blankly at the computer as it found the location of where Allison and Heather were trapped. It didn't register to him. All he heard was Heather's voice.

A smile came to his face.

"All right then," he said, loudly. "Marry me!"

He could hear Heather chuckle. "Is that your idea of a marriage proposal?"

"Well, I'd get down on one knee, but since I can't see you, that will have to wait."

The phone clicked before the dial tone was heard. David turned on his heel, and raced to change into the suit.

"Remember," Bruce began as he called out from the chair. "Don't do anything stupid!"

David smiled over his shoulder as he climbed into the Tumbler. "Don't you mean, don't do anything that you do?"

With a laugh, Bruce waved at David telling him to go. He stood back and watched the Tumbler race out of the cave, leaving him alone with the sound of the waterfall and bats. He was worried for his son going out into the darkness of Gotham. Now he knew what Alfred felt like all those nights.

-------------------

"Damn this is cold!" Allison exclaimed as the water settled around her chest.

Heather smiled, despite the situation. "Just close your eyes and imagine it as a nice, warm bath."

"Baths never smelled this horrid," Allison countered.

Heather shrugged, just as they heard a click of a valve and more water pour into the space. The level was now high enough that they could either touch with their toes or tread water. The cieling was still another five feet above them. Allison looked up at the steel grate and waited for a familiar face to come into view.

-------------------

The Tumbler skidded around the corner as it accelerated towards the green dot on the monitor. He had to look at it twice.

"Is that directly under the river?"

_"It is_," Bruce's voice replied. _"They're inside a compartment that runs alongside the tunnel. It's to be used by maintenance men and as a kind of bulk head for if the tunnel ever became flooded."_

"How do I get in there?"

_"There are a series of tunnels that run above the tunnel,_" Bruce replied. _"You can access it by the tunnel entrance."_

David pulled the Tumbler directly beside the tunnel entrance. He jumped out and raced for the door. After a few moments, he had it open.

"I'm in," he said softly, touching his temple to turn on the night vision so that both he and his Dad could see what was in front of him.

_"Follow this tunnel and turn right in about fifty feet,"_ Bruce said, watching the both the map on the monitor and the screen above it showing David's view of the tunnel.

As soon as he found the junction, a man's arm came up and hit him in the face. David momentarily backed up from the impact, but quickly recovered. He swung his arm forward, taking the man by the wrist and swiftly bringing him down to the ground. The man was unconscious.

_"I'm impressed,"_ Bruce said, causing David to smile slightly. David turned down that hallway. _"They should be right in front of you."_

"There's nobody here," David replied softly, before hearing the sound of water rushing followed by gasps and uninteligible words. "Hold on a sec." He continued on, listening carefully.

"Hey!" he heard Allison cry out. "There's someone up there!"

"Hey!" Heather called out. David looked down and saw fingers poking through a metal grate in the floor. He quickly ran towards it and reached his own fingers between the spaces and pulled up on it, finding it was secured to the floor. He looked down, meeting the eyes of his sister, floating just a foot beneath the grate. He glanced at Heather for a brief moment in fear that she would recognize him behind the cowl. Knowing that he didn't want to speak, Allison spoke up.

"Get us out of here," she said. "The water is rising."

David reached onto his belt and pulled out the small torch. After successfully getting two bolts undone, he was quickly realizing how long it was taking him to open the grate. He could feel his hands shake under the stress and nerves of knowing that Heather and Allison were moments away from drowning. His Father's voice spoke calmly in his ear as he continued to burn off the bolts as the third one popped off.

"Hurry," Heather begged as they struggled to catch their breaths through the grates. Another rush of water suddenly filled the space as the two girls took a deep breath. Instead of continuing to torch the forth and final bolt, David stood up and pulled on the grate with all his might. He let out a loud yell as he pushed the grate to the side. It moved. He pushed it further and further away on the remaining bolt. When the space was large enough, he reached into the water and pulled up the first thing he felt. Allison let out the breath she was holding as David pulled her onto the concrete. Her mouth chattered as one word came out of her mouth. "Heather."

David quickly turned and reached down in the water.

"Damn it!! No!"

He slid into the water and sank beneath the surface searching for that one woman. He reached around himself in the darkness, praying that he would find her. He was beginning to panic when he felt something brush against his back. David quickly spun around and wrapped his arm around Heather and pulled her to the surface. He pushed her through the opening first before climbing out beside her. David looked down at her, seeing the blue tinge to her lips and fingers on her lifeless body. He crawled up next to her, not willing for her to give up. David quickly leaned over her, opened her mouth and breathed air into her lungs before pumping her chest with his fists. Allison watched in fear as she watched her older brother, looking more like her father as he begged for Heather to wake up. He continued this pattern over and over for what seemed like an eternity.

_"David, let her go."_

Bruce's voice in his ear was soft and solemn, while he heard his son breath deeply in sadness.


	10. Chapter 10

_"David, let her go."_

Bruce's voice in his ear was soft and solemn, while he heard his son breath deeply in sadness.

David pinched his eyes shut as water dripped out of the cowl and down his face. He opened his eyes and looked back down at Heather. Quickly, he sat straight up and continued the chest compressions.

"What are you doing?" Allison softly asked as she walked near.

"What do you think I'm doing?" he snapped back at her. "I'm not giving up."

He looked down at Heather's face, her lips turning a tinge of blue. David quickly bent over and put his mouth over hers for a brief moment, breathing for her.

"Heather, you're not leaving me!"

On the next breath, she returned the breath and spat up the water that had filled her lungs before going into a coughing fit. David sat back and sighed in relief as Allison rushed over to Heather. The woman continued to cough as Allison gently spoke to her, reassuring her that she was all right as Heather caught her breath. David quickly stood up and backed up against the wall, holding in with much restraint, the overwhelming emotions that were going through him. Instead, he stepped back and watched as Allison hugged Heather. He caught a glimpse of Allison's knowing eye and thanked her silently.

"What happened?" Heather finally asked, her voice small.

"You were under a little too long," Allison replied shakily as she was still quite cold. Heather looked up and saw Batman standing a few feet from them, just inside the shadows. Allison noticed Heather looking past her and she glanced over her shoulder, seeing her brother standing like a dark statue. "Batman saved you."

Heather forced a smile through chattering teeth. She was still in the midst of catching her breath. "The second time too. Thank you."

David said nothing, in fear that he wouldn't be able to mask his own voice with the flood of emotions he was attempting to keep at bay. Instead, he nodded.

The sound of voices coming towards them caught their attention. With Allison's help, Heather staggered to her feet. The pair stood close together, partly for warmth and in fear of who would be coming towards them. David quickly jumped in front of them and gently waved them to move further back as the voices grew louder.

Heather never saw it, but she certainly heard the gun fall to the ground as she watched Batman swiftly take a man's arm and pushed him against the wall. The impact and shock to the man was enough to knock him out just as another man ran in and kicked Batman in the side. Batman groaned and bent over slightly before the man tried it again. This time, Batman stepped out of the way and punched the man in the face.

David placed his hand over his side, surprised how the impact wasn't as bad as it would've been. He felt sore, but enough to carry on. He glanced over his shoulder and began to make his way back the way he came. Heather and Allison walked around the two men on the ground before following Batman out of the tunnel. Heather took a deep breath of fresh air once they reached the exit. A loud roar of an engine caught her attention as the fabled black tank that people have claimed to have seen on the streets of Gotham appeared in front of them. The rooftop opened and Batman climbed into the drivers seat.

_"Bring them both back home,_" Bruce's voice said in David's ear. "_Everyone would be safer here."_

"Get in!" he called deeply.

Heather looked at Allison who promptly began to walk towards the Tumbler, as she walked with an arm around Heather as the older woman was still unsteady on her feet. Heather didn't walk in time with Allison and stopped.

"What are you doing?" she said loud enough for Allison to hear.

"We're getting in the big tank," she replied, plainly.

Heather scoofed.

"Have you been breathing too much sewer water? That's Batman. There is no way...there's no way either of us are going anywhere with him."

Allison paused.

"The way I think about it is, that we're stuck out here and there's a ride out of here right in front of us," she explained. "Besides, he doesn't look dangerous."

"To you, maybe."

Heather let out an aggravated sigh as she walked with Allison to the Tumbler. Heather watched Batman as they walked up to it. Although he had saved her life twice now, she still couldn't bring herself to trust him. She had read countless articles from years past about how he had once killed some people. She wouldn't allow Allison to be put in danger. Just as Allison was about to climb in, Heather grabbed the teenager by the arm.

"I'll sit in the middle," she told her softly, to which Allison merely shrugged.

Heather glanced up as the roof of the vehicle quickly closed over them. No one spoke as Batman turned on the tumbler and quickly drove it down the road. Heather sat with her arms crossed, partly to keep herself warm and also because she didn't want to accidentally bump into Batman as he took the sharp turns and quickly accelerated down the roads. It was then that she noticed that they were heading further out towards the outskirts of town.

"Wait! My house is in the city," she said.

Batman didn't reply. He continued to keep his eyes on the road ahead of him, knowing full well that Heather was watching him. He heard her scoff.

"Are you even listening to me? You're going out of the city. You need to turn around."

Heather looked out the front window, realizing that they were on the road that was leading towards the Palisades, and Wayne Manor.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Allison said softly. "It seems like he enjoys being rude."

A console began to beep on the front dash. Batman quickly leaned over and turned it off the sound, casting a quick glance and an aggravated sigh towards Allison.

Without any warning, he quickly turned the car in nearly a 360 and opened the roof of the Tumbler. Heather turned to look out to see that he had pulled up directly in front of the drive up to Wayne Manor. She could see the lights and the outline of the large house in the distance. Allison climbed out.

"I hope there is a nice warm fire waiting for me."

Heather sighed, not wanting to spend anymore time in the company of Batman. She quickly climbed out after Allison and turned around.

"Thank you," Heather spoke softly through chattering teeth, as she continued to rub her arms to keep warm.

Batman nodded. "Get inside."

Heather turned and began to walk with Allison towards the house. Batman closed the roof of the Tumbler and spoke once it had closed completley.

"Commissioner Gordon is calling," he said, noticing that the light on the console was still flashing.

_"You'll have to go. I'll check on Heather for you."_

"Thanks. I was hoping to see her again sooner than later," David said as he turned the Tumbler back towards the city.

* * *

Gordon stared up at the beacon reflecting off the low clouds in the night sky. He looked down at the coffee in his mug and took a sip, wincing at the cold, stale taste. He turned when he heard the sound of something rustling behind him. Batman stood just inside the shadows. Gordon reached over to the switch and turned off the light, before dumping the contents of his mug onto the ground.

"You're late," Gordon said.

"I was busy."

Gordon looked up, realizing something was off with Batman. He had known of Batman's identity for years and something tonight wasn't right. It wasn't just his voice. It was his stance in the shadows. He still had an air of mysteriousness to him but he almost smirked. He caught it. It was a subtle mark before the dark knight quickly wiped it off his face. Gordon couldn't put his finger on it. But what he did know was that he had seen that smirk before on someone else. He put aside all the questions and got down to business.

"I have the report from the incident at the private school earlier today." He opened the file and passed it to Batman. "5 people are dead. Two of them were faculty members. We were missing a student and I wondering if you had heard anything about that."

Batman nodded, looking down at the reports in front of him. "It's been taken care of."

Gordon caught it again. The voice was definitely off.

"The school will be closed for the next week or so for further investigation. We managed to get video footage from the security cameras from inside the school."

Gordon held out the file towards Batman, who stepped out from the shadows to take it. He watched how Batman carried himself. It was certainly different. Batman looked at the photos from within the file, one looking right up at him. Joker.

"He's back," Gordon said, when he noticed Batman's eyes falling on that photo. "I don't know how he did it, but that bastard is back. What I can't understand though, is if he's been alive all this time, why has he waited so long to show his face? What does he want?"

Batman sighed.

"Heather Tamarack was found along with Allison Wayne," he said. "She was taken from inside the ER department in the hospital."

Gordon was confused. "I didn't hear of anything happening at the hospital."

"It was a quiet job," Batman stated. "No one even knew that she was gone."

"The Joker's handiwork I'm assuming as well?"

"I'm leaning towards that. I'll speak with her later and see what happened."

Gordon nodded, glancing out at the night sky.

"I don't understand the connection between Miss Wayne and Miss Tamarack," he said, turning back towards Batman and seeing the space where he once stood was now empty. Jim grinned before he spoke softly to himself. "Maybe I'll have to pay the Wayne's a visit."

'Like father, like son,' he thought as he turned to head back inside the MCU building.

-------------------

David wasn't surprised to see his Dad still waiting for him in the cave. He saw him standing beside the computer desk the moment that the Tumbler punched through the curtain of water and came to an abrupt stop. The noise and rumbling caused more than one bat to fly from his or her perch on the cave ceiling. David jumped out of the Tumbler and pulled the cowl off from his head. Bruce held out his hand as David passed the file to him that Gordon had given him.

"The school camera caught a nasty picture of Joker," David said. "There's no denying that it's him though. He looks just like I remember him, just a little older."

Bruce turned and placed the file on the desk as David walked up behind him, pulling the gloves from his hands.

"How's Heather, and Allison?"

Bruce turned. "They're both fine. Last time I checked, Allison was eating supper and Heather was taking a shower. Alfred had a room prepared for her since she'll be staying with us for the time being. Since Joker has come after her, it's safer for her to stay here. Your Mom is going to work with the hospital board in granting her a leave of absence from her internship. I'm certain that your Mom still has some pull there."

David dropped the gloves on the table and sighed. Bruce turned, noticing the frustration in his stance. He only had to turn to him before David explained what was bothering him.

"Dad, I couldn't say a word to her," he said. "Instead, I just watched as Allison held onto her, comforting her. It was something that I should have been doing. I should have been telling her that it's all right, but instead she was afraid of me. She barely looked me in the eye."

Bruce sighed, putting his hand on David's shoulder.

"Heather is alive because you didn't give up on her," he said. "She's upstairs right now and she's waiting for you. Your Mom had to make an excuse for you. She told her that you were out looking for her and she had called you home shortly after the girls came inside. Why don't you get out of that suit and get cleaned up before going up to see her."

David nodded, turning towards the change area and the shower that they had built in the cave. After a quick shower, David and Bruce took the trip up to the house. As they appeared in the study, Olivia's voice carried into the room from the front door. The study door was partially ajar. Bruce recognized the other voice in the entryway and pushed the door open.

There was Jim Gordon speaking with Olivia.

"Commissioner," Bruce said, with a smile. Jim turned and smiled. "It's good to see you. What brings you out here?"

"I just came by to check on your daughter, Bruce," Jim replied, glancing down at Bruce's arm in a sling, before looking over at David's face. If he had been speaking to the young man an hour prior, he would never have known. David didn't make any inclination to knowing anything more. "What happened to the arm?"

Bruce glanced down at the sling and shrugged. "Just a slight accident. I've been taking it easy for the past week or so. David's been taking care of things at work for me for the time being."

"I see," Gordon said, with a knowing smile. "Well, if you're anything like Bruce here, you'll do just fine."

David smiled. "Thank you, sir."

"I was also coming to check to see if Miss Tamarack could help out with the investigation that I'm heading up in regards to her disappearance while at the hospital," he said.

David said nothing but turned to his Mom when she spoke. "She hasn't said much about what happened. I offerred something to eat when she arrived, but she said she'd just rather be alone for the evening. Perhaps in the morning after a good night sleep, she'll be able to help."

Gordon nodded. "I understand. I'll come back tomorrow."

Bruce shook Jim's hand before walking him out the door. Before he even had a chance to say another word, he turned and saw David making his way up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

* * *

Heather laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She noticed the large molded trim following around the edges, an illusion to make the ceiling appear shorter than it is. In a room as extravagant as she was laying in, what was above her was catching her eye. Heather didn't dare close them. Every time that she would, she'd hear his voice in her ear or see his face right in front of her. Heather rolled over once again in the large bed, feeling the silk sheets under her legs. That was something she wasn't used to - silk and feeling them with her legs. Heather always wore pj pants to bed. Allison had let her borrow a pair of pajamas for the night. She couldn't help but smile when she had put them on. The cute girly shorts and the hot pink graphic t-shirt with the wording 'Sweet Dream's' in silver writing screamed teenager.

Heather was about to bury her head under the pillow in frustration when she heard a light tapping at her door. It took her a moment to wonder if she was hearing it or not. The house often made odd sounds which David had once convinced her into thinking that there were ghosts living in Wayne Manor. After once hearing the logical explanations from Alfred, she was no longer concerned about what she heard and this was just one of those times. It wasn't until she heard a soft voice calling her name from behind the door that she realized that she wasn't hearing things.

She sat up and walked over to the door and slowly opened it, allowing for her eyes to adjust to the brighter light of the hallway. Heather squinted, realizing that it was David at the door. He smiled sheepishly and wasn't sure what to say. His mouth moved, but no words were coming out.

Taking the initiative, Heather took two steps forward into the hallway and wrapped her arms around David's neck. He responded and held onto her, taking in a deep breath of her recently showered, damp hair.

"I thought that I'd never see you again," she whispered into his ear. She heard him chuckle.

"I'm glad to hear your voice and not just over the cell phone," David said, as Heather pulled back, rubbing the back of her hand under her nose. A small smile pulled at his lips as he noticed her clothes, yet he didn't bother to comment. He didn't have to ask where they came from.

"I hope that I didn't wake you," David added. "My parents said that you went to bed but I couldn't turn in myself until I saw that you were all right."

She shook her head and sighed exasperatedly.

"I've been laying in that bed for nearly an hour now," she stated. "I just can't fall asleep. I don't know if it's trying to sleep in a place I usually don't or if it's just..." She paused. "...just the nightmares of waking up gasping for a breath and then seeing his face every time I close my eyes."

David smiled, sympathetically. He didn't blame her. He was certain that he would be having the same nightmares for a while, instead he'd be watching her die in front of him, powerless to do anything. Finally, he smiled.

"How about a walk then?"

Heather stared at him, surprised. "At this time of night?"

He shrugged with a smile. "Why not?"

"It's a little cool outside."

"I'll grab you a sweater and I'm sure I can find a pair of pants that would fit you. I'll get a flashlight in case we get too far from the house." He paused with a smile, holding out his hand. "Come on. It'll be fun."

She looked down at his open palm before looking up into his eyes. "David, you don't have to do this."

"Do what?"

"Take care of me. I'm a big girl. I deal with pinning down and sedating drug addicts coming in off the street and drunkards everyday in the ER."

He nodded.

"I know. I just want to spend time with you. Thinking that I was hearing your voice for the last time put a lot into perspective for me. I don't want to take advantage of what I received."

With a deep sigh and smile, she took his hand.

-----------------

The sky was clear and being so far from the city, the stars could easily be seen in the night sky. The moon shone bright enough that it made the yard bright enough to see.

Heather pulled her hands inside the sleeves of the over-sized hoody and looked up, searching for a speck in the sky that was moving.

"I think I see one," she said, keeping her eyes looking up as she heard David walk up beside her. She raised her hand and pointed up. "See those two bright ones? Follow the lower one of the two towards the right and you'll see it. It's slowly moving."

"Yeah, yeah," David said. "I think you're right. Another satellite."

He watched her tuck her hands back inside the sleeves and wrap her arms around herself.

"I miss seeing the stars," she said. "You can't see them at all at the house."

"The penthouse has a pretty good view, but even on the clearest of nights, it's still hard to make out the stars," David explained as he pulled out his flashlight.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded her head and took ahold of his arm as he led her through the tree line. The frogs and toads were making themselves known as they neared the old creek that ran behind the property. Heather couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about being in the darkness and being unable to see what could be lurking around them. David even seemed to sense her apprehension. He turned to her.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "I'm just a little chilly."

"We're almost there," he said, pushing a branch aside for her and carefully let go of it, so that it wouldn't hit either of them in the back.

Finally, she saw it. The old barn. It wasn't really a barn. It was smaller, like a shed, yet Heather always called it the barn. It was a clubhouse, a storage shed and most importantly, a hideaway. David would have spent countless hours playing pirates and Indians in the bush around it. The first time she had met him was on a hospital committee luncheon when his Mom encouraged him to show Heather around. The first place he had brought her was the old shed.

"What are we doing out here?" she asked.

David grinned. "Wait right here," he said. "I'll be right back."

Before Heather had a chance to ask what he was doing, he turned and walked into the barn. She could hear him rummaging through the old shed and see the beams of light as he moved the flashlight around. Heather waited as patiently as she could, but the sounds of the bush in the night were getting to her. A light crack and the sound of leaves moving along the ground was enough to make her heart begin to pound. She glanced around, almost expecting someone to jump out at her.

"David?!" she called out, forcing her voice to come out of her throat. "Are you almost done?"

"Yeah, just give me a few more seconds."

There it was again. A crack coming from the right. Heather slowly reached down to the ground, feeling for a stick, preferably a large one and stood back up. Slowly she walked towards the sound, her breathing erratic and her heart beating out of her chest. She could barely hear anything else. It wasn't until she felt something on her shoulder that she spun around.

"Hey! Heather!"

The voice didn't even click in and she just about swung, but David somehow managed to catch the small branch in his hand.

"Whoa! What's going on?" he exclaimed.

In shock, her hand suddenly let go of the branch and dropped it to the ground as tears came to her eyes. Before David could even question, she wrapped her arms around his chest.

"Don't leave me," she whispered softly, as she steadied her breathing once again. David sighed, angry at himself for not even thinking when he was only thinking of himself when he went into the shed. He could feel the small metal ring in the palm of his hand and he quickly pocketed it before wrapping his arms around Heather. The initial plan to ask her once again to marry him was changed with one stupid move on his part.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I wasn't thinking especially after what you had gone through today with the Joker."

"It's not so much the Joker," she said. "It was the other guy."

"What other guy?"

"The one who came into the ER. He looked as normal as you or I. That's what scares me. This guy can be your best friend and you wouldn't even know it. He acted as though he was sorry for the situation that I was in but then he would justify the things he would do to me."

David felt a pit in his stomach grow.

"Do to you? What did he do?"

"Nothing what you're thinking. He tied me up, face down," she explained. "I didn't see his own face until he put me into the back of his minivan. He mumbled almost constantly about how Mr. Wayne ruined his life and forced him to do what he did to me."

"Would you recognize him again if you saw him?"

"Hell, yeah."

* * *

"I ruined his life?" Bruce asked, as he sat in front of the computer. David stood behind him, his arms crossed and still dressed in a sweater and long pants from the walk.

He had walked Heather back to the house and said goodnight to her before leaving to find his Dad back in the cave. David had to laugh. Even though the old man was unable to be on the streets, he kept up the same sleep cycle regardless.

"Do you know how many people that could use that same claim? I've worked with dozens of companies and business people over the years. Of course, not all of them would go insane and start working with the Joker," Bruce explained as he turned in his chair towards his son. "If she could somehow narrow it down then it would give us a jump start on finding this guy and hopefully by finding him, we'll find the Joker."

"How is she going to narrow it down? I only managed to get her to talk about it because I scared the crap out of her in the bush," David stated.

"Ask general questions about the man," Bruce suggested. "What he looked like, anything about him that stands out; that sort of thing. Hopefully the, we'll have a clearer idea of who we're working with."

David nodded and turned to leave.

"Hey!" Bruce called out, causing David to stop and turn around. "Did you ask her?"

David sighed and shook his head. "I was planning on it, but it backfired on me."

Bruce smiled. "You'll get another chance."

"I hope so."

--------------

A/N - Okay...so no cliffhangers this time. I had to end it sooner than later otherwise you'd get another cliffhanger. This took me so long to write because I just didn't know which way to bring it. Hopefully you liked it and if not...oh well...I hope you'll like my upcoming chapters as they'll be getting more interesting...at least to me they are. :)


	11. Chapter 11

The first few days quickly turned into a week and before Heather knew it, she had spent nearly all of her time at Wayne Manor. Although they encouraged her to make herself at home as much as possible, it wasn't home. David had been kind enough to pick up some of her things from the house with Kate standing by the door with a cute smile on her face. When she had asked him what he was doing there getting Heather's things, his reason was that she had come down with the flu and was staying at Wayne Manor. Kate could see through the lie and in her mind, she took it as a lame excuse to say that Heather was moving in with him and the woman just didn't want to deal with her housemates exuberant joy. So, instead, she offered her help to David as he sometimes awkwardly searched Heather's room and the bathroom for the requested items on a piece of paper. She enjoyed watching David try to keep his face from turning different shades of pink as he rummaged through Heather's underwear drawer.

Now surrounded by her things in the room she was staying in at Wayne Manor, she didn't feel at home. Heather felt as though they were sometimes speaking in code while they ate supper and talked about the most absurd topics. She found that conversations would end abruptly when she'd enter a room before they would begin talking again about mediocre things like the weather. At first she thought she was just imagining it, but as the days went on, she was certain that something was going on. Finally, one evening as she walked towards the den, she stopped at the door when she heard voices whispering.

"Are you thinking about going out tonight?"

"I'm considering it."

Heather heard a chuckle but couldn't distinguish who it was. "I can take care of it."

David.

"My shoulder is feeling much better," she heard Bruce say.

A sigh.

"Bruce, it hasn't even been a month yet," Olivia said. "Give it at least another week."

"Batman needs to find Joker and this other guy," Bruce said. "Has Heather said anything more about the guy who took her?"

"Nothing more than we already know," David replied. "If we could get a picture of whoever this was, then maybe we could at least narrow it down."

A light hand rested on Heather's shoulder, causing her to jump. She spun around, carefully holding onto her tea as it splashed inside the china cup. Alfred stood behind her, a plate of pastries in his hand and a towel resting over his other arm.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, as she took the towel from Alfred's arm and wiped up the spill on the floor. "You startled me."

"What were you doing, Miss?"

Heather thought quick as the man's eyes twinkled in front of her.

"I had something irritating my eye and I had to get it out before I took another step," she said, smiling before walking into the room with the older man behind her.

It didn't surprise her to find that the previous conversation had ended as soon as she walked through the door. With a smile, she sat down beside David and placed her cup on the table beside her.

"So, what were you talking about?"

David looked over at Bruce, but didn't have to wait for him to respond.

Bruce leaned forward and grabbed a pastry off the tray as Alfred set it down. "Business stuff."

Heather nodded, considering it. "So, what does Batman have to do with business?"

David swallowed, hard but wasn't surprised that his Dad already had an answer; the evidence of years of making up false reasons.

Bruce laughed. "Nothing."

"I heard you mention Batman just before I came in," Heather said, as Bruce shrugged.

"There was a report on him on tv just a few minutes ago," he told her.

Heather nodded with a smile as she looked at the television. There was a news program on and the volume was set on low. She watched as the anchor went right into the financial report while Bruce reached for the remote to turn up the volume. She inwardly shook her head as she took a sip from her cup.

* * *

Her heart was racing as she turned over in bed, moving almost as though she was trying to get away. Finally, she opened her eyes and gasped, seeing a face right in front of her.

"Oh my God! David?! What are you doing?"

She began to relax when she realized that the man haunting her dreams wasn't in front of her. David reached over to the lamp beside the bed and switched it on.

"I could hear you from across the hall and I wanted to make sure that you were all right," he said. "It sounded like you were in pain." She squinted up at him as the light flooded the room. Although he wore a white t-shirt and black shorts and his hair was a mess, Heather couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks, but I'm fine," she told him. "I'm sorry for waking you."

David shrugged. "I was still awake anyways." He paused for a beat before chuckling. "I'll head back to bed. See you tomorrow."

Heather quickly sat up and reached for his arm, getting his attention. David stopped, looking down at her hand and then to her face.

"Stay," she said softly. "If you want to, I mean."

David nearly felt his breath get caught in his throat. What did she just say?

"Are you sure?"

She tipped her head to the side and smirked as she nodded. "Hopefully then, we'll both get some sleep."

And then, it fell. The hope of having the invite to sleep with Heather would be spending time, sleeping next to her. He couldn't argue though.

Softly, he closed the door and walked around the bed as Heather turned off the light beside her before slipping back under the sheets. She turned on her side just as David was settling in beside her. In the darkness, she could make out the contour of his face as he slept on his back beside her with his outer arm resting under the pillow. Heather smiled, chuckling.

He turned to her. "What?"

"I don't know how it's possible, but you look even more handsome in the dark," she said, as David smiled.

"It's that distinct Wayne chin," he teased.

"Maybe." She paused for a moment. "Or your Pinocchio nose."

David quickly turned back towards her. "My what?"

She giggled, turning onto her back and covered her mouth with the blanket, attempting to stifle her laughter in fear of the other people in the house would hear.

"Are you making fun of my nose after you invited me to sleep next to you?"

Heather rolled back over onto her side and propped herself up on her hand before leaning over David. She leaned down and gently kissed his nose, her hair falling down around his face.

"It's a handsome nose," she whispered. "I was just teasing."

David smirked, brushing her hair from her face. "I know. So was I."

"I know. You're just too much fun to play with."

He looked up at the woman leaning over top of him and smiled. She was beautiful. Making a quick decision then and there, he sighed.

"Heather, I want to ask you something," he said. "I was going to ask you last week and in fact I have asked you this before, but I'm wanting it to be more serious this time. I know you're not someone who like the fancy, overdone kind of things, so I'm going to ask you this now. Will you do me the honour of being my wife?"

Heather felt the air get sucked out of her all over again. She had heard him say those same words not too long ago but this time it sounded different. It wasn't in desperation. It was sincere and with more love than she had heard before. She gently touched his cheek and leaned down towards his ear.

"Yes," she whispered, before wrapping her arms around his neck.

David let out a sigh of relief before putting his arms around Heather as she rested partially on top of him. He kissed the side of her neck as she pushed up from him and found his way to her lips. David looked at Heather and noticed that she had her eyes closed and a smile on her mouth as she rested her head against his.

"I love you," he whispered, which elicited a giggle from her.

"I love you too."

Heather gently kissed David's lips once again as she found the spot of hair on the back of his head which she loved to get her fingers wrapped up in. She smirked as she heard him moan lightly into her mouth. Feeling a little adventurous, she moved closer to him and slid her leg along the side of his before climbing over it and straddling one of his legs. She could feel his hands moving from her hair and to her back and then down to her backside. Heather moved her own hands down from David's head and reached for the bottom of his white shirt and slid her hands over his stomach, feeling for the first time the chistled muscles under her hands.

David couldn't get enough of the sensation that Heather was causing within him. Not only the movement she was making along his leg or the kisses she left on his mouth, but it was the slow exploration with her hands from the back of his neck and then down to his stomach. He let out an unconscious satisfied moan as she rested her hands on his skin. It wasn't until she found her way to a tender spot along his side that he suddenly gasped.

"What? What's wrong?" she asked, as she sat up on top of his leg, worried.

David, out of breath, tried to explain with the first thing that could come to mind. "I'm a little ticklish there."

Heather smiled once again. "I'll avoid it then."

David sighed and smiled. "Thanks."

Knowing he most likely ruined the moment, he smirked and reached up, grabbing Heather and pulled her down onto the bed beside him. He turned over on his side, looking down on her. Before she could say a word, he leaned down to kiss her hungrily before pulling the blanket up and over the both of them.

------------

The chime wouldn't end.

At first she thought it was an alarm clock but after peeking through one eye and noticing the darkness still in the room, Heather dismissed that thought. Still, it continued. She rolled over, loosing the arm that was draped over her on the way and reached blindly onto the bedside table for the offending sound. Finally, she found it. Her cellphone. She touched the screen, turning it on and lighting up her eyes with a mind numbing brightness. Heather squinted as the words 3 missed calls appeared on the screen. She checked the time. 3.12am. Who the hell would be calling at that time? She checked the last caller and the number was her house. Kate?

Suddenly worried, she sat up, feeling the cold for the first time against her skin as she emerged from the thick blankets and the warmth of David's body heat as he had slept beside her. She looked back at his sleeping form as he slept soundly. Heather picked up her shirt off the floor and soon found her underwear and pants not too far from there. Quickly and quietly, she slipped out the door and closed it behind her before starting to call back her house.

She waited as it rang and rang. Finally, there was an answer, or at least it sounded like one.

"Kate? Hello? Kate, are you there?"

After a stressful few seconds, she heard a voice, although it was weak.

"Heather, I need you to come home."

"What? Why? Are you all right?"

"I'll tell you when you get back. I just need you to come home right away."

"Did something happen between you and John?"

"I'll explain everything. You need to come home."

"Okay, okay," Heather said as she jogged down the quiet staircase. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

She hung up the phone, quite concerned for her friend. Heather pulled on her shoes and quickly jotted down a note and left it in the kitchen before grabbing the keys for the Jaguar off the rack. Within five minutes, she was on the road headed into the city.

-------------------

Something wasn't right. Bruce could feel it the moment that he heard the silent alarm for the garage go off next to his bed. He stood up and glanced out the window just in time to see the Jaguar disappear down the driveway. He grabbed his robe and left the bedroom, just as Olivia was waking.

"Bruce, what's going on?" he heard her say as he swiftly made his way down the hallway. He gently pushed open Allison's door, seeing the teenager asleep. He turned to David's door and felt his heart flip when he saw that the bed was empty. He looked across the hall to Heather's door and carefully opened it, finding an unusually large body in the bed. In fact, he recognized it even in the dark of night. Bruce reached down to the lamp and turned it on, just as Olivia caught up to him at the door.

The light brightened the room and woke the lone man in the bed. David squinted against the bright light and was startled when he saw both his parents standing in the doorway.

Bruce ignored the fact that as far as he could tell, that his son was topless and sleeping in the bed of his girlfriend.

"Where's Heather?"

David was surprised. "I don't know."

Bruce let out a humph before turning and leaving the room with Olivia beside him. Once he was alone, David pushed the blankets off of himself and quickly got dressed before running to catch up.

"What's wrong?!" he called out as he saw them turn the corner towards the garage.

"Heather left," Bruce said, stepping out into the garage. "She took the Jag. I'll set up the computer to put on the tracker for it."

"You don't have to," Olivia said, stepping out from the kitchen, holding the note in her hand. "She went to her house. Kate called her."

* * *

"Heather, what are you doing?!" David exclaimed over the phone.

"Kate needs my help," she explained. "If I called needing help from her, I'd expect that she'd do whatever she can to help out."

"It's not safe."

He heard Heather chuckle.

"I've been sitting inside of Wayne Manor for two weeks now and there has been no sign of the Joker anywhere in the city," she replied. "Chances are, he's left or he died for some odd reason."

"Joker hasn't left town," David said. "He's probably just waiting to make a move and you going out on your own is a perfect opportunity for him."

"Spare me, David!" Heather exclaimed. "It's not like you met the guy and chatted it up a bit. I have."

He sighed, not knowing what else to say.

"Look," she began, her voice softer. "I'll come back as soon as I'm done here and I'll even call you when I'm leaving, okay?"

"Okay."

She pulled into the driveway and instantly noticed that the house lights were off. Kate was obviously home as the Neon was in the driveway directly in front of her.

"That's strange," she commented.

"What is?" David replied, hearing her voice once again.

"The house lights are off," she said. "Kate always leaves a light on when she's home by herself."

"Heather, I don't feel right about this."

"I'll just go in and make sure she's all right," she said. "The girl is probably so depressed or something that she didn't even bother. I'll call you when I leave."

Before David had a chance to say anything more, she shut her phone and headed towards the side door. She pushed it open once she realized that it wasn't locked.

"Kate?!" she called into the house.

She took two steps before finding her foot collide with something. She cursed before feeling the wall for the light. When she switched it on, she gasped.

The place had been turned upside down. Drawers were emptied, glasses had been shattered and holes had been punched into the walls. Heather became concerned.

"Kate?! Where are you?"

She maneuvered her way through the kitchen and felt her stomach flip when she saw Kate laying on the floor, an obvious red stain on her stomach. Heather jumped over the other pieces of broken glass and raced up next to her friend, quickly and carefully placing her hands over the sticky wound. Kate stired from the pain and opened her eyes, as a weak smile came to her face.

"What time is it?" she asked, her voice barely audible. "Is it time to go to work?" Heather stared down at her confused. She shook her head.

"Kate, I need to get you to the hospital," she said, pulling her jacket off and placed it over the wound. Heather picked up her cell phone and began to dial 911 when she felt something nudge her in the back of her head.

"Drop it," came a stern, assertive voice. Heather let the phone slip from between her fingers and fall to the floor. It was the same voice from the hospital. Slowly, she turned around, seeing the man standing a few feet from her with a small gun in hand. His hair fell slightly over his eyes and he smiled when he saw her face.

"I knew you would come," he said. "In fact, I counted on it."

"You did this to her?"

The man shrugged.

"She wasn't cooperating when I simply asked her to call you to come home," he said. "I had been looking all over the city for you. If I knew that just a simple phone call would make you come running back to me, I would've done it a while ago."

"She needs a doctor!"

"You're a doctor."

"She needs to go to the hospital."

"Well, she isn't going to the hospital. So you're going to have to figure out how to help her. But not here."

The man walked towards Heather, aiming his gun towards her. She held up her hands as he pulled her up to stand before pushing her out the door.

"Say one word and I'll kill you and I'll make sure I'll return to finish the job on your friend inside," he warned as they walked down the driveway towards the street. Just as they neared the curb, a van pulled up and the side door opened. Two men jumped out of the back before the man pushed Heather into the back.

"Go grab the woman on the floor. Oh, and put this on the table," the man told them, handing one of them a large envelope before they ran into the house. Less than a minute later, Heather found herself sitting on the floor of the van beside Kate as she drifted in and out of consciousness. The man jumped into the van and sat down by the door. Heather looked up at him as he watched her.

"Who are you?"

The man grinned.

"You don't know me," he said. "But Mr. Wayne and I worked together at one point. He had hired me to do some work for him and when I got in a little too deep into the secrets of his life, he tossed me aside figuring that I'd continue to live my life." He chuckled, turning to look out the window. "But things aren't always as they seem, much like the Wayne family."

"You're crazy," Heather mumbled, before looking down at Kate, nervously checking the young woman's pulse.

"You want to talk about crazy, huh? Dressing up as a bat is crazy. Hell, that Joker guy is even a little nuts, but I'm just trying to get back the life that was taken from me. My wife and kids. He'll soon know how it feels."

---------------

"You're not going!"

Bruce's voice echoed throughout the cave as he finally caught up with David. Olivia and Alfred walked off the lift behind Bruce as he stormed his way towards the area where the suits were kept. He walked in just as he saw David pulling the piece of Kevlar over his chest.

"Like hell I'm not," he retorted.

Bruce sighed.

"You're too close to this," he said, this time his voice a little softer. "You're not thinking clearly and you could get hurt."

David stopped, hearing the tone of his Dad's voice. He turned and looked at him, seeing both Alfred and his Mom standing just a few feet behind.

"What if this was Mom who was out there? You'd be out the door before anyone could say anything. You wouldn't let anything stop you. I need to do this."

Bruce glanced over his shoulder at Olivia and smiled weakly. Finally, he nodded.

"Fine," Bruce said, undoing his shirt. "I'll be right beside you."

It was Olivia's turn to object.

"Bruce, are you sure it's a good idea? Your shoulder isn't one hundred percent."

He looked over at David as the man continued to pull on the pieces of armour that were around him, finishing with the cowl.

"We'll be fine," he said, quickly pulling on the Kevlar.

-------------------

The Tumbler rolled to a stop in front of Heather's house. The rooftop had barely finished opening before David jumped out. He had unclasped the cape in the tumbler as it was becoming a hindrance to him. David rushed into the house to find it empty. He instantly felt light headed when he saw the red blood stain on the floor. He walked into the living room, and stepped on something in the darkness. He bent down and picked up Heather's cell phone. He took a deep breath and turned, punching the wall with his fist and left a visible mark in the drywall.

"They're gone," Batman said, as he appeared in the kitchen and picked up an envelope off the table. David walked over to him, stepping over the broken shards of glass and chair legs.

"There's blood here too," David said, fighting to keep his voice in check. "Heather's cell phone is here." Batman looked down at the contents of the envelope. He read the message and before David even had a chance to finish the first line of the cryptic riddle, Batman turned on his heel and raced out the door.

"What?!" David quickly followed. "What did it say?"

He watched as Batman jumped into the drivers seat of the Tumbler.

"Get in! Now!" Batman yelled, as he started the engine

David promptly jumped into the tumbler and barely had a moment to breath before the vehicle turned and drove down the street.

"What's going on?"

"We have to get home," Batman said.

"That's what it said?"

"Not in those exact words. Your Mom and Allison are in trouble. Heather was a trap set to get us away from Wayne Manor."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N - Sorry for the delay on this one... We've had the nastiest of nasty stomach flu's in our house over the past week. It started with the youngest last monday night/early tuesday morning, and then the other two kids started on friday during the day and then my husband got it on saturday. I managed to squeeze by with just muscle and back aches, a little nausea and extreme exhaustion. So, this explains the tardiness of this chapter....

Thanks to all for the nice reviews and for those who put this on their alerts. :) Cheers!

* * *

Olivia could smell the fresh tea as she walked down the stairs from her bedroom. She had tried to fall back asleep after David and Bruce had left, but sleep never came. So, she decided to stay up until they returned, hopefully with Heather safe and sound. Olivia didn't say a word when she walked into the kitchen. There was Alfred standing by the kettle as it began to wail.

"Care for some tea, Madam?"

Olivia smiled. "You read my mind."

Alfred turned with the steaming kettle and carefully poured it into the small china cups.

"On a night like tonight, I can't possibly see how anyone could sleep."

"First Bruce, and now David," she said, with a sigh. "I never dreamed that David would be going out into the night with him. He was always so quiet and sensitive as a boy and grew up to be a level headed man." She paused for a moment, looking down at the tea as it steamed into her face. "I'm not saying that Bruce isn't level headed. It's just that I had hoped that this desire or passion for justice would end as Bruce got older."

Alfred smiled.

"Perhaps it's a hereditary thing," he suggested. "Master Bruce's father fought crime and violence, but in a different way. He wasn't popular for it and was at the time, the only man putting his money where his mouth was, so to speak. I would assume, had Thomas Wayne lived a longer life, he would've continued to fight exactly what Batman stands up against."

"I don't want David to feel compelled to take up his mantle when Bruce finally decides to give it up, if that ever happens," Olivia said.

"I'm afraid you'll see Master Bruce dressed up in that cowl well into his 80's if you let him."

Olivia laughed at the thought as a loud buzzing sound filled the kitchen. Her smile faded quickly.

"Is that the..."

"...the alarm? Yes," Alfred said, with an urgency as he gently took Olivia by the arm. "Go check on Miss Allison. I'll do a check around the house and turn off that dreadful sound."

Olivia agreed and headed up the stairs while Alfred walked towards the back door. Olivia turned towards Allison's bedroom. The young girl walked out of her room, just as Olivia walked up to her.

"What's going on?" she asked, running a hand through her matted hair.

Just as Olivia was about to answer, a loud voice echoed up towards them. "I've heard that the master of the house isn't at home. In that case, I'll settle for his wife and children."

Olivia didn't need to hear another word. She instantly recognized the voice as her face paled. Allison also seemed to recognize it and was about to say something when Olivia firmly put her hand over her daughter's mouth to keep her quiet. Olivia placed a finger over her lips before she grabbed Allison's hand and pulled her further down the hallway. Olivia could feel her heart race when the sound of multiple footsteps made their way up the marble stairs behind them. She pushed Allison into the master bedroom and glanced over her shoulder, catching the eye of the Joker as he reached the top of the stairs. She saw him smile behind his scars before she slammed the door and locked it. She turned to her daughter who appeared to be having trouble breathing - a result of her panicked run. Olivia grabbed Allison by the shoulders, looking her straight in the eye.

"Breath slowly," she ordered.

"I...I..I..can't," Allison managed to say between breathes.

"Damn it," Olivia cursed under her breath, turning towards the door as she heard the sound of someone attempting to turn the knob.

"This isn't how you should be treating a guest," came the Joker's voice from behind the door.

Olivia raced around the bed and pulled open the nigh table drawer beside Bruce's side of the bed and felt along the underside of the table top until she found the button. She pressed it and a small hidden door built into the wall across the room opened. She took Allison's hand as the girl continued to gasp through each breath she took.

"Go down to the cave and stay down there until your Dad returns," she told her, as she pushed Allison through the door.

"Wha...what a-about you?"

"I'll meet you down there," she replied. "I'm going to find Alfred. I can't leave him alone with that monster in my house."

Tears began to come to Allison's eyes as the girl shook her head. Olivia turned towards the door as it began to splinter from the gunshots on the outside of the door. She was thankful for the extra thick oak doors that Bruce had insisted on when he had the house rebuilt.

"I love you. Now go!"

Again, Allison shook her head, her emotions making it even more difficult to catch her breath. Olivia forced a smile despite the situation.

"I'll be down as soon as possible," she reminded Allison before reaching inside the small room and pressing the button on the wall to close the door and send Allison down into the cave.

Olivia rushed towards the window as soon as the hidden door became invisible against the wall. She pushed the thick curtains aside and opened the window. The cool night air swept into the room as she slipped her leg through the opening and brought the rest of herself out the window and onto the small balcony. She glanced down over the rail towards the grass and bushes below her and shook her head. She hadn't tried to climb out of a two storey window since she was a teenager, trying to sneak out of her parent's house.

"This is stupid," she told herself, before turning back towards the door as it was hit once again with a volley of bullets. She quickly climbed over the balcony until she was only holding on by her hands at which time, she let go. She felt and heard a snap as she landed feet first into the large evergreen, knowing that it wasn't the bush under her that made the sound. Quickly, she slid off the bush and stood up, immidiately feeling the pain in her ankle. Olivia bit her lip as she hobbled towards the shadows of the house and slowly made her way around the building.

The garage was dark and appeared empty as Olivia peered in through the window. There was no sign of anyone and Olivia felt it was probably her easiest way into the house. She carefully keyed in the password into the keypad and saw the light flash green before she attempted to turn the knob. She slowly made her way through the garage, passing a museum of old restored cars alongside a few of Bruce's more favoured vehicles. As she walked past the workbench, her eyes caught light through the windows against the metal of the large wrench. She picked it up before making her way towards the door to the house.

Olivia slipped into the house without a sound. She groaned inwardly with each step she took. The pain in her ankle was excrutiating, but the adrenaline that coursed through her kept her in control.

Just as she was about to come through the kitchen, a man walked in with a mask over his face. Olivia didn't even bother to think twice. She lifted the large wrench and swung it against the man's face, dropping him to the ground with a thud.

"Hey! What's going on over there?"

Olivia sucked in a breath hearing another voice, knowing someone had heard the attack. She quickly stepped over the heap on the floor and raced across the hall as fast as she could.

"Over there!"

Olivia turned a corner, seeing a familiar man sitting on the marble floors at the bottom of the stairs, his arms tied up around the lowest wrung.

Alfred.

That wasn't all that she saw. Joker looked up from where he stood over Alfred and caught Olivia's eye. He pulled out a gun from his pocket and aimed it at Alfred as he glanced up to look at Mrs. Wayne.

"Go ahead," Joker said calmly. "Take another step."

Olivia froze, in fear of what Joker was about to do. She saw him nod his head as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her torso and pulled her one arm against her back. She squirmed as she was literally carried out towards the Joker.

He sauntered towards her, licking his lips as he brandished his knife in his left hand.

"You're just as beautiful as I remember," he said. "It's been too long. Too long. How's the husband and the brood? Speaking of which, where are the kids?"

Olivia kept silent and glared at him, defiantly. Joker sighed as he lunged towards her running his knife over her cheek.

"Safe."

A small smile crept onto the monsters face. In one swift motion, he plunged his knife into her stomach. For extra emphasis he twisted it slightly, enjoying the look of pain and shock cross Olivia's features. He leaned into her and whispered into her ear.

"One way to kill a bat, is to get it in its heart."

He pulled the knife out as Olivia looked down to see the blood staining her satin pajamas. She looked back up in time to see the Joker walk out of the house with the remaining clowns behind him. She gently touched her stomach and felt the pain as a wave of nausea came over her. She collapsed to her knees and she fell to her side.

"Oh my God," Alfred said, over and over, as he attempted to get out of the tight knot that held him to the staircase. "Oh, Olivia." He watched as she attempted to form words as she looked over at him, feeling the warm blood against her hands as she held them as tight as she could against her stomach. "Don't speak. Help should be coming soon." He looked up and lowered his voice. "I pray that help arrives soon."

* * *

The first thing they saw when the Tumbler came into the cave was Allison. Her eyes were wide and her face was pale.

Batman jumped out of the tumbler before it even had a chance to completely power down. He ran towards her, hearing her ragged breathing as he came closer. He quickly pulled off his cowl, dropping it to the ground and took her by the shoulders.

"Allison, calm down," he said, knowing that he had to get her under control. Bruce turned to David as he had now appeared beside him. "Find a puffer. There should be a spare down here somewhere. Alfred keeps extras all over the house. Check with the first aid."

David nodded and ran towards the cupboard where the first aid supplies were kept and quickly pushed things around searching for the puffer. Finally, he found one and ran back, shoving it into Bruce's hand who held it up to Allison's mouth, encouraging her to breath. Finally, she relaxed enough that she could talk.

"Joker is here," she said. "He's upstairs. Mom went after Alfred and I haven't heard from either of them."

Bruce nodded, grabbing the cowl and pulling it over his face. He raced towards the elevator. He didn't have to turn around to know David and Allison were behind him.

"No, I want you two stay here," he said, stepping into the lift.

"I'm coming to help," David said. "If Mom or Alfred are in trouble, I want to help."

After a few seconds, Batman nodded. He turned to Allison. "You stay here. Stay here until one of us come for you. I don't want the Joker to even see you."

Reluctantly, she agreed.

Allison stepped back and watched as the lift swiftly rose higher and higher until she could no longer see it.

------------

Alfred heard it. It was so subtle that one without a trained ear to recognize the familiar sound that he had heard for decades would miss it. It was the sound of the gears hidden within the walls of Wayne Manor clicking as the pulley's worked to bring the lift from the cave below to the house above.

"Help!" Alfred called out. "We're over here!"

He glanced over at Olivia as she laid on the cold, marble floor, helpless. The door to the study swung open as Batman appeared with another man dressed similarly in black behind him. Alfred was certain that he heard Batman gasp when he saw Olivia on the floor. He was beside her in an instant, pulling his cowl off and feeling the dread rise within him. He wasn't even certain where to touch her as it seemed that there was blood everywhere. Where was it all coming from?

"Olivia? Olivia!"

The woman recognized the voice and slowly opened her eyes and smiled. Bruce turned to Alfred as David quickly untied the ropes before joining his Dad on the floor. David took his Mom's hand as Bruce quickly covered her wound with his hand, hoping to stop the bleeding even further. Alfred quickly rushed towards the phone and dialed 911 as David and Bruce knelt beside Olivia.

"There are my two favourite men," she said softly.

Bruce looked up at David, urging him to grab towels from the kitchen to help stop the bleeding. With another fearful glance down at his Mom, he ran off.

"Did you find Heather?"

Bruce shook his head and whispered. "It was a trap. The Joker counted on me to be away. I'm so sorry. I should never have left you alone."

"Shh," she said softly. "It's not your fault."

Bruce lovingly ran his hand over her face as he heard Alfred clear his throat from behind him.

"Excuse me, sir?"

Bruce turned his head.

"The ambulance is on its way as are the police," Alfred said. "They should be here momentarily."

David ran up beside Bruce, tossing him a towel which he promptly covered Olivia's stomach with. He forced his eyes away from the blood that stuck to his hand.

"I would suggest sir that you should get changed before they arrive. I'll stay with Olivia until you return," Alfred added. Bruce looked at David, noting that his son was still in armour as well. As much as he wanted to stay with his wife, he knew he had to leave for a short time.

Reluctnaly, Bruce nodded and leaned in and kissed Olivia's lips before he quickly stood up and followed David back into the study.

They came back a few minutes later, with Allison beside them. Allison certainly wasn't ready to see what she saw. The poor girl gasped as Alfred called for Bruce to help. The ground around her mother was turning a dark crimson.

"Sir! She passed out and just stopped breathing a few seconds ago!"

Bruce felt his own heart stop as he heard Alfred's panicked words.

"No," he mumbled as he quickly knelt down beside Olivia. He took her head between her hands, calling her name loudly. When he got no response, he covered her mouth with his and breathed for her.

"Come on, Olivia," he begged, as he continued to breathe for her. Bruce could feel tears come to his eyes as it began to cloud his vision, yet he continued. Allison was across from him, looking down at her Mother's face in shock.

David stood back, watching the scene as it appeared nearly surreal. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't supposed to happen.

He continued to stand and stare as the EMT's pushed past him and took over breathing for Bruce. David didn't understand much of what was going on or what they were saying. He watched as his father had to be literally pushed out of the way for the EMT's to do their work. The voice of the police commissioner was enough to pull him away from Olivia.

"Bruce, I'm so sorry. The EMT's are going to do everything they can. What I need to know now, is what happened here?" Jim asked, softly.

Bruce could only shake his head. "I wasn't here."

"It was the Joker, sir," Alfred suddenly said as he approached the two men. "I watched it happen right in front of my eyes."

Bruce glanced past Alfred as the EMT's carefully lifted Olivia onto the gurney, saying that she was stable as they rushed her into the ambulance.

"Hey, commissioner, we found this one in the kitchen," an officer said, as him and another man pushed one of Joker's men down the hallway, his arms shackled firmly behind his back. The man was sporting a horrible bruise over his face. Jim walked over to the officers and the man as Bruce watched the man glance over to where Olivia was being transported out of the house and saw him smirk.

"Is something funny?" Jim spat.

"Poetic justice, tis all. She got what was coming to her."

Bruce clenched his fist and his jaw and before he knew it he was in front of the man, holding him by his forearm against the wall. His arm was threatening to choke him as the man gasped for air and pulled at Bruce's arm. Bruce wasn't even attuned to realize that Jim and David had their hands on his shoulder, calling his name, trying to get him to back away from the guy.

"You want to talk about justice?" Bruce said deeply. "Where's the Joker?"

The man tried to form words.

David raised his voice.

"DAD! Come on!"

"Mr. Wayne! That's enough!" Jim exclaimed, finally breaking through to Bruce. Bruce let out a breath and backed away from the man, allowing him to cough his way into breathing again. Jim sighed, looking from Bruce to the man. "Get that scumbag out of here!"

The officers nodded as they roughly pushed the man out of the house.

Jim sighed and turned to Bruce. "I'll let you know the moment this guy starts singing."

-----------

The empty hallway had become a silent vigil. Bruce looked over from where he stood to see his daughter sitting on a chair against the wall with her legs pulled up into her chest with Alfred sitting beside her, while David paced the hallway just a few feet from her. Worry and fear were on all their faces, as they hadn't heard anything since they had heard that Olivia had been brought into surgery an hour earlier. Every time the door would open, they would all look up in anticpation for news. Instead, a nurse or doctor would walk past and smile sympathetically towards them, knowing that they had shut down the entire hallway just for Mrs. Wayne's family. It hadn't taken long for the city newspapers and television stations to gather word that something had happened to the Wayne family and in that time, a crowd of media had formed just outside the emergency room.

When a familiar doctor appeared at the door, he immidiately had an audience.

"She's stable," he said. "We have her sedated at the moment. You can go in and see her if you'd like."

Bruce nodded silently as the doctor turned and went back the way he came with Bruce, Alfred, David and Allison walking close behind. They walked a short ways down the starch white hallways, hearing only the sound of a beeping monitor as they approached Olivia's room.

"I'll be by to check on her in an hour," the doctor said as he stepped back, allowing the family to enter.

Bruce sucked in a breath, seeing his wife laying pale and motionless in the bed. If it wasn't for the monitor beside her beeping with each heartbeat, he would've thought that she wasn't alive. He sat down beside her in a vacant chair and carefully took her hand.

"Is she going to be all right?"

The words were choked out by Allison. The same words that everyone had on their minds but didn't want to ask in fear of having the answer they didn't want to hear.

Alfred looked to Bruce, who too didn't know what to say. He turned to the girl beside him and put an arm around her.

"Your mother is one of the strongest people I know," he said. "If anyone will make it, she will."

David sighed as he stood at the end of the bed. He stood for a moment longer and then turned and began to walk towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

Bruce's voice caused him to stop with his hand on the door handle. He turned and looked back at the faces staring back at him. Allison's eyes were still red and Alfred looked exhausted.

"I'm going to go find this bastard who came into our house, did this to Mom and who knows what he's done to Heather," David quickly retorted.

"David, I don't think that's a good idea right now," Bruce said, as he stood up before slowly walking towards David. "You're not in the right frame of mind. You're angry..."

"Hell yeah, I'm angry," he spat.

"And for that very reason alone, I don't want you going after the Joker on our own. It's not a good idea."

"It's not a good i...?" David shook his head. He lowered his voice. "My mind has been tormenting me with thoughts and images of Heather. I know what the Joker is capable of. I can't just sit here and do nothing. I can't believe that you're just sitting here!"

"I'm staying here with my wife and your mother who was severely injured," Bruce stated clearly as he now stood in front of David. "This is where I need to be right now."

"Well, in that case, I'll find my fiance on my own," David said as he reached for the door knob. His hand never reached it and instead was quickly twisted around to his back. He could feel Bruce right behind him with his wrist in his grasp and in a moment of reaction, David turned his body and pinned that of Bruce's against the wall, causing a loud thud. David turned around, and grabbed Bruce's forearm as Bruce took ahold of David. He paused when he heard a voice cry out in the room.

"Master Bruce! Master David!" Alfred exclaimed, as the two men froze in a stand-still to a fight. David watched Bruce, almost instantly regretting what he was about to do to his Dad if Alfred hadn't interrupted. He quickly let go of Bruce's arm.

David stepped back and let out a scoff before readjusting his shirt. He glanced over at Alfred's startled expression and turned to Bruce, seeing the darkness in his eyes that mirrored his own.

"I'm out of here," David finally said, grabbing the door knob and swinging it open broadly before leaving the room and the hospital.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N - Sorry for the extended break. Family comes first and with that I must say that the past few months have been the most trying for me in a long while. The best news is that I'm pregnant again! Unfortunately, the first 16 weeks I was puking up a storm...not fun! All I could do was wake up, get the kids breakfast and get them dressed. I'm glad that my oldest is old enough now to make sandwiches for her brothers so at least I didn't have to smell or even look at food when I was at my worst. I'm happy to say that the worst is over and I'm hoping that it just gets better from here on out. I'm due in February so here's hoping for an uneventful next few months so I can finish this story. I have a few others in mind, but I want/need to complete this before I can work on anything else.

Thank you so much for those of you who continued to review and put this on their story alerts. My heart was wanting to continue, but my body was not willing. I just want you to know that I saw each and every one of them and I'm very appreciative!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"I'm staying here with my wife and your mother who was severely injured," Bruce stated clearly as he now stood in front of David. "This is where I need to be right now."

"Well, in that case, I'll find my fiance on my own," David said as he reached for the door knob. His hand never reached it and instead was quickly twisted around to his back. He could feel Bruce right behind him with his wrist in his grasp and in a moment of reaction, David turned his body and pinned that of Bruce's against the wall, causing a loud thud. David turned around, and grabbed Bruce's forearm as Bruce took a hold of David. He paused when he heard a voice cry out in the room.

"Master Bruce! Master David!" Alfred exclaimed, as the two men froze in a stand-still to a fight. David watched Bruce, almost instantly regretting what he was about to do to his Dad if Alfred hadn't interrupted. He quickly let go of Bruce's arm.

David stepped back and let out a scoff before readjusting his shirt. He glanced over at Alfred's startled expression and turned to Bruce, seeing the darkness in his eyes that mirrored his own.

"I'm out of here," David finally said, grabbing the door knob and swinging it open broadly before leaving the room and the hospital.

Allison stood frozen as she had watched the entire scene unfold in front of her. She couldn't believe what had happened - that David and her Dad nearly fought before Alfred brought them back to their senses. She looked from the closing door to her Dad as he walked back towards her Mom, looking every bit ashamed. Without another thought, Allison ran towards the door and quickly pulled it open just as it was about to close.

"Allison!" she heard Alfred call from behind her as she slipped through the door. Down the hall she could see David walking as he pulled his jacket on over his shoulders. She called out his name, urging him to stop. Finally, hearing his sister's quick steps behind him, David stopped and turned.

"I don't want to hear it from you too," he said, rolling his eyes as she slowed to a stop in front of him.

She sighed and shook her head. Suddenly, she reached up and wrapped her arms around David's chest.

"Be careful," she said softly, as David slowly put his arms around her.

"I will," he replied. "Let me know if anything happens with Mom while I'm gone."

"Of course." David turned to walk away. "You know, Dad is proud of you. He's just upset with everything that is going on. He's stressed out, you know."

David paused and nodded. "I know. I just wish he could say it."

David continued down the bleach white hallway and through the double doors.

-.-

The ride in the van seemed to last forever. Every bump they went over made Kate groan. Heather grimaced. She had assumed that the last extended stop would've been theirs, but instead, they sat for a short while before the van suddenly lurched forward again.

"When the hell is this ride over?" Kate gasped.

They felt the van swerve to the left.

"Soon, I hope," Heather replied.

Just as the words came out of her mouth, the van came to a halt, causing Heather to brace herself and released some pressure on Kate's wound. She quickly recovered and slapped her coat back over Kate's stomach.

"You're loosing quite a bit of blood," Heather commented, softly.

Kate winced.

"It's no wonder I'm feeling light headed."

Heather leaned down over Kate. "I'll get you help as soon as I can."

The back door to the van suddenly opened and a bright flashlight shone into Heather's face. Less than second later, she felt a hand on the back of her neck, pulling at her collar as she was dragged out the back door of the van. Heather yelped as they caught part of her hair in their fist as she was pulled out.

"Say another word and I'll kill you now, rather than later."

Heather recognized the voice. It was the same that spoke to her at the store. She saw the man as he stood a few feet in front of her, but couldn't believe that it was the man that first took her from the hospital. Heather watched, confused. A half dozen men stood around them, each with a gun or rifle in hand.

"Is everything in place?" the man asked the large burly man to his right.

"Phone's hooked up and everything is set to go."

She watched as the man in front of her smiled as he turned to look back at her. He walked towards her.

"I have something that I need you to do for me."

-.-

Bruce watched the slow rhythmic motion of Olivia's chest with each breath she took. He looked up to her face, waiting for her to wake up and he could hear her voice. The only sound he would hear would be the consistent soft beeping of the machine beside him; the only indicator to him that she was still alive.

How many hours had it been?

Bruce leaned over in his chair beside the bed and ran his hands over his face and into his hair. Time seemed to have slowed to a complete stop while he sat and waited, alone in the dimmed hospital room. Finally, he stood up and walked towards the window as the night life of the city and the small lamp on the bedside table were the only things lighting the room. Bruce sighed.

"He's not a boy anymore."

A smile tugged at Bruce's lips, as he continued to look out into the night sky. Finally, he nodded and turned as Alfred walked towards him with a Styrofoam cup in hand.

"I know," Bruce said. "I need the reminder sometimes. But I don't know if he's ready to face what he'll encounter out there. The last thing I want is to find out in the morning that not only is my wife in the hospital, but my son is as well."

"You have taught him well."

Bruce took the cup from Alfred and turned back towards the window.

"It's a parent's job to worry about their children, even when they're grown up," Alfred added. "In fact, I still worry about you."

Bruce turned and smiled, looking over at Olivia. "Where's Allison?"

"I sent her for a walk down to the cafeteria," he said, as he watched Bruce walk up to Olivia.

Bruce leaned over, tenderly brushed Olivia's hair away from her face and kissed her lips before whispering something to her. He stood back up and sighed.

"Keep an eye on Allison and Olivia for me," he said, walking towards the door. He pulled out his cell phone.

"Of course, sir. But..."

"I'm going to go catch up with David," Bruce said. "I have a feeling he may need more help than he realizes."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The tumbler leaped through the wall of water and swerved slightly as it made contact with the soft ground on the other side. David kept his foot on the gas, not bothering to slow down. On his way back to Wayne Manor he decided that he would go straight to Coleman Reese's place. He had nothing else to go on and he was hoping that he would find something of use there.

A beeping sound inside the Tumbler caught his attention and David glanced down at the centre console to see an incoming phone call to his cell. He didn't recognize the number but answered anyways.

"Hello?"

"David? It's Heather!"

"Heather? Where are you?"

"I'm at the corner of Metro and fifth. At the old tool and die shop," she replied, her voice wavering slightly. "He told me to tell you to get Batman to come."

"Who did?"

"He's the guy..." She paused for a moment, taking a deep shaky breath and he could barely hear the sound of another voice in the background. "Just tell him to come. He wants Batman to come."

"Heather, I'm on my way. I'll get you."

"Don't you dare come, David!" she cried. "Do you hear me! He'll kill you!"

Heather looked over towards the phone cradle where a hand had pressed down on the handle.

"I think he got the message," the man said, taking the phone from Heather's hand. The man placed it onto the cradle before pulling out a mirror from behind the door and glancing into it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box and set it on one of the many oil drums that sat in the room with them.

"Who are you?" she asked nervously, not wanting to think what the man was planning with the drums.

The man grinned and looked over his shoulder. "I've been called many things over the years. I've had many names. But the one that the Wayne's would be most familiar with is Coleman Reese."

"And you work for the Joker?"

Reese let out a chuckle as he continued to look at himself in the mirror. "Joker's dead. He's been dead for years. That clown is who made my life a living hell. The Wayne's only fuelled that hellish fire by carrying on with their charade."

He watched as Heather glanced towards the closed door. "If you're planning on running, you wont get very far."

"Where is Kate?"

"Oh, the girl? She's leaving a nasty stain on the floor down the hall."

"I need to see her."

"You will," Reese replied, as he glanced over his shoulder at Heather. "After I take care of the Batman, whenever he shows up."

Heather let out a nervous laugh. "David doesn't know who Batman is. He wont be able to get him to you any more than I would."

Reese grinned. "Oh, you would be surprised." He turned around and walked towards Heather, placing one hand on either arm of the chair that she was sitting in. He smiled down at her, like a chestire cat. "How well do you know the Waynes?"

Heather didn't dare make eye contact with the man standing above her, just inches from her. "I've known them for years."

"And you obviously still don't know who they really are."

Heather watched as Reese walked over to her, resting his hands on either side of the chair that she was sitting on. "What if I told you that they knew who Batman is and personally funds all of his toys?"

Heather scoffed. "You're crazy."

A small smile tugged at Reese's lips. "

At that moment, the door busted open and one of Reese's men walked in.

"We have company. There are about a dozen police cruisers on the ground outside the building and I just lost contact with Schultz at the east door."

Reese stood up.

"What?" he exclaimed. "How the hell did the cops get here so fast?"

He looked down at Heather and quickly grabbed her by her cuffed wrists. Reese followed the other man out into the hallway and quickly stepped behind Heather, wrapping his arm around her stomach and continued to push her forward as they walked. Ahead, she saw a half dozen dressed SWAT men. Heather was about to call out but decided against it when she felt a cool metal against her neck. The other man beside Reese quickly ducked into a room leaving Reese and Heather alone in the hallway with the SWAT team.

"Hold your fire!" one of the SWAT called out, holding his hand up to the other men behind him. "Suspect has a hostage!"

Heather heard Reese curse as he backed into a room, pulling her backward in with her before quickly turning and locking the door behind them.

"That should hold them off for a while," he stated, turning on the light to the room they were in. It was empty but had another door that led them into the main tool and die shop. Reese pushed the other man forward and slowly they walked out into the large room. It was dark. The only light was from the cracks around the large bay doors and from under the outer doors.

"Stop," the man in front of Heather said. Reese stopped pushing her forward. "I heard something."

A bird tweeted as it flew around the rafters of the building.

"It's just a damn bird," Reese stated, just as they heard a loud scuffle followed by silence.

Reese grabbed Heather and pulled her in front of him and she winced, feeling the knife pushing into her neck.

"Touch me, and she's dead!" Reese called aloud confidently out into the darkness.

Heather looked out into the darkness and saw nothing but a void. She could hear Reese's ragged breathing against her neck.

"Come on," he said, as he reached for another door and stepped backward into it. He slammed the door as soon as they were both inside. It wasn't lockable, so he let go of Heather for a moment in order to turn the latch at the top to seal the door.

Heather took that opportunity. As soon as he let go of her, she ran down the hallway. It felt like she wasn't running fast enough and her sneakers squeaked as she raced as fast as she could. She could see the outside door from where she was. But instead, she suddenly felt like something jumped up and bit her in the leg. The sound seemed to come afterwards. A gunshot. Almost instantly, her leg gave out and she found herself falling to the ground. Heather braced herself with her bound hands and hit the floor.

The back of her thigh stung. She carefully rolled over and reached to her leg and found her hand covered in blood. She had been shot. Heather looked up and saw Reese's face as he walked up to her.

"Look what you made me do," he said, shaking his head.

A noise further down the hall caught his attention and he quickly picked Heather up by the arm. She had no idea how much pain she was feeling until she was made to stand. Her leg screamed in agony as she finally glanced down to see the red blood staining her pajama pants. Heather gasped as she felt herself once again being pulled backward down the hallway. She struggled to keep herself standing as Reese continued to pull her along. Heather gasped with each movement, and forced herself not to make more sound.

Reese pushed open a door with his back and shoved Heather inside. She landed on the ground, hard. Heather barely had a chance to turn around when she heard the door close and being locked from the outside. A noise beside her in the dim room caught her attention.

"Kate?"

Heather clenched her teeth together tightly as she pulled herself along the floor towards her friend. She was glad to see that her coat was still sitting against Kate's stomach wound, but felt her stomach lurch when she could feel the stickiness of blood that had seeped through it. Heather reached up and brushed the hair out of Kate's face.

"Kate?"

Heather heard her moan slightly. "Open your eyes."

"Come on, Kate," she begged.

Kate didn't comply but she spoke weakly in words that Heather couldn't understand. Heather laid back on the floor beside Kate realizing for the first time that she was beginning to feel lightheaded from the blood loss from her leg. She pushed up onto her elbows and glanced down at her left leg, seeing the horrible stain that was growing on her leg. She sighed, realizing that she had nothing to wrap around it to slow the bleeding, until she looked over at Kate. Her friend had a belt on. Grimacing slightly, Heather twisted onto her side and began to undo Kate's belt. She heard her friend moan from the movement and Heather apologized softly as she pulled the belt through the loops, praying that it would come out easily.

Finally, she found the end and quickly sat up. Heather wrapped the belt around her leg and took a deep breath before pulling it as tight as she could and fastened it off before laying back down, trying to once again relax.

-x-x-x-x-x

He had heard the gunshot after that short scuffle in the large warehouse and felt a knot grow in the pit of his stomach. David knew he was running out of time. He had no idea how the SWAT team arrived when no one knew what was going on in the shop.

David turned a corner and saw Reese standing behind a wall, filling his own gun with bullets. There were obvious blood stains on his clothes as he carefully reloaded. He slowly walked up behind the man and pushed him into the wall, causing the man to drop the gun. Reese quickly turned and David pressed his hand against his neck.

"Where is she?"

A look of satisfaction crossed Reese's face for a moment until it turned to confusion.

"Wait a sec," he managed to say. "You're not him."

"Of course not," Batman replied. "He is where he is supposed to be and I'm where I want to be."

"I should have known," Reese stated, pulling against Batman's fingers as he held him securely against the wall. "You have feelings for her."

"Tell me where she is and I'll let you go," Batman growled deeply into Reese's face.

Reese sighed. "Down the hall, turn right down the flight of stairs. She's in the room, second door to the left."

Batman released the pressure against Reese's neck. "I don't ever want to see you in Gotham again. If I even hear that you're breathing in this city, I'll find you. If you terrorize my family again, I'll kill you."

Reese grinned. "It's good to know that unlike your father, you're willing to do what is right."

Batman didn't say a word but turned and walked away from Reese.

"He could have learned a thing or two from you!" Reese called out as he watched Batman walk away.

Reese glanced down at the gun on the ground and slowly bent over to pick it up. "He could have taught you a few things too," he whispered to himself as he raised the gun. Batman quickly turned at the sound of a gun going off, but instead he saw the gun sliding across the floor and heard Reese scream as Batman held tightly onto the man's arm. Swiftly with the back of his elbow, Batman hit Reese in the face making the man instantly go unconscious and fall to the floor.

David sighed, not realizing how glad he was to see Batman until he was there with him in the hallway. Batman quickly walked towards David.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he began. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you," he said. "Now let's find Heather and get out of here."

Agreeing, David turned to walk down the hallway with Batman beside him. "Reese said that she was down this way."

"Wait, he told you?"

David nodded, not slowing down. Batman paused for a moment before an image flashed in his mind. Rachel. Reese had been using the Joker's tactics from the beginning. Why not now?

A flash of light caught his eye.

"David, wait!"

Batman could see the thin wire on the floor as David paused and turned, his left heel stepping into it.

They could hear the rumbling of the explosions coming towards them. Batman ran into David, catching him by the arm and quickly jumped out the window. Behind them, the explosion shot debris out the window as glass flew all around them.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N - I know, I know... where have I been! I'm certain a few have given up on this fic, but I'm determined to finish it. Life with 4 kids is quite taxing and now that the baby is nearly 15 months old(where has the time gone?), she's able to entertain herself more and play with her siblings. So, that's finally leaving me with more time to myself. I never thought I'd have time to myself again! But here I am, with time to myself.**

* * *

First, it was the noise. A deafening thud of pressure that was certain to blow her eardrums blew through the room, following a crushing sound. Whatever light was shining from under the door quickly disappeared as pieces of drywall and suspended ceiling fixtures fell down onto the floor. Heather screamed but her voice was met with the thick dust that filled the room. She instinctively covered her head, feeling the pieces of debris falling on top of her and prayed that it would soon be over or that death would be swift. It lasted only seconds but felt like an eternity. As the room became silent once again, Heather let out a cough as she gasped for air in the dusty room.

Heather tried to move and soon found that she was pinned down. She pushed with all her might at the beam of wood that crossed the room and held her to the floor.

Letting out a short sigh, she slowly turned her head towards where Kate lay.

"Kate?" she croaked. Her throat burned as she spoke her name and she was certain she would gag while she swallowed.

Heather reached out beside her, feeling blindly for her friend. She could merely feel the edge of her sleeve with her finger tips. Finally, she relaxed and closed her eyes, trying to slow her ragged breathing.

'So, this is how it feels,' she thought. 'I'm going to die here.'

* * *

David felt the train-like body shove him out the window, covering his head ensuring that he wouldn't get up as glass showered down around them. Batman rolled off of him as the explosion subsided. As he turned over and stood up, Commissioner Gordon was running towards them.

"I have fire and rescue on their way," he stated, catching his breath. "There's a fire coming up from the lower level of the building and the back half of the warehouse is already engulfed in flames. I have some of my SWAT team members still inside."

David looked up towards the building, seeing that parts of the outer wall had already crumbled in on itself. He turned and walked towards the window that they had just jumped out of when someone grabbed him by the arm.

"Wait," Batman growled. "You don't know where she is or if she's even alive."

David leaned forward and spoke low. He knew that Batman was probably right. "If Mom was in there, you'd already be inside and you know it. Now, let me go."

Bruce met his sons pleading eyes, seeing the emotion in them knowing that his fiancé was most likely already dead.

Batman let go of his arm as David quickly turned to climb into the broken window. He turned to Gordon beside him.

"Get EMS ready," he said softly. "We may come back with casualties."

Gordon nodded as Batman followed David back into the building.

* * *

A sound.

Her eyes flew open as she gasped. The air was thick. She could barely breath it. She was laying down. Why? Her leg hurt. It burned. She couldn't' move it. Why? Everything was confusing to Heather when her ears heard the sound again.

A voice. It was louder and for a moment Heather was certain that she was imagining it. What was it saying? Her mind was struggling for oxygen in order to make the words make sense.

"Is...ody...ere?"

There it was again. A man's voice. She knew that voice. Why couldn't she see anything? She wiggled around, feeling the pain shoot through her leg. Instead, she moved her hands until she hit something hard.

"Is...ybody...ere? ...eather!"

She gasped, realizing that someone was calling out to her. David. Heather tried to call back but found that she was barely making a sound. Frustrated, she reached for that hard item beside her hand and picked it up. It wasn't heavy but with her strength, she could barely lift it. Heather let it fall to the ground, letting out a low clunking sound. Beside her, it was loud. She picked it up again and dropped it, praying that someone would hear it soon. She was getting tired.

* * *

Batman paused for a moment as he and David walked through the debris filled hallway. The fire was nearing their position and Batman knew that they would have to turn back shortly.

"Hold up," he said, holding an arm out to the side, stopping David's step.

"What?"

"I heard something."

David quieted, listening. His head snapped up, hearing the sound.

"I heard it too," he stated, as both men pushed their way through the debris towards the sound. After twenty feet, they stopped again and listened.

"I don't hear it anymore," David said, a panic rising in his chest.

"She's nearby," Batman assured him, quickly rushing to a nearby door and kicked it in against the debris that held it shut. David followed suit and began kicking down doors, calling her name into each room. They were running out of time and they knew it.

Batman paused, shining a light into a tight room. He saw Kate first and barely recognized her with the white dust that covered her face.

"Over here!" he called, catching David's attention from down the hall. The young man jumped over debris and ran towards the door where Batman had squeezed through moments before. "They're both here."

David couldn't see Heather in the dim light of Batman's flashlight but the strong 2x4's that fell from the ceiling kept them from reaching both women. Together, Bruce and David pushed the heavy piece of wood far enough to the side so they could reach Kate and Heather.

"Kate heartbeat is very slow," Batman said, his fingers to her neck. He turned to Heather and shone the light onto her face. He was met with her hazel eyes, barely open.

"David?" she croaked softly.

Batman looked over at his son kneeling beside her a few feet away. Without another moment's hesitation, David took her blood dried hand and squeezed it.

"I'm here," he said.

Batman put his hand on David's shoulder. "We have to get them out of here now. This place could come down at any time."

David nodded and gently picked up Heather's slender form, hearing her gasp and groan with each movement he seemed to make. He lost count of the number of times he muttered that he was sorry as he carefully walked her out of the room and eventually out of the building. Once he step foot back onto the grass again, he looked down at Heather, seeing the extent of her injuries in the light of the street lamps. But something was different. He leaned down towards her face and tipped his head to listen.

No, his mind shouted as he quickly laid her down.

"Batman!" David yelled out as he leaned over he once again to make sure that he was certain. Batman laid Kate down on the grass as David called his name.

"She isn't breathing," he said, more to himself than to Batman.

Quickly, he pinched her nose and brought his mouth over hers before breathing fresh air into her lungs. He prayed with each breath, and stopped to look at her peaceful dust-covered face and hair.

"Come on, Heather," he begged, running his hand over her face and into her hair before covering his mouth over hers once again.

"Come on!" he said, more angrily through gritted teeth, as Batman put his hand on David's shoulder. "And don't you tell me to stop trying."

"I'm not," Batman said, in a voice that only David and a few others would ever recognize. "But the EMS will be here shortly. It might be best to back away, gather yourself and let them do their job."

David ignored the suggestion and continued to breath into Heather's lungs.

He stopped and looked down at her face. Was it raining? Spots were appearing on her face, washing away the dust to reveal her skin beneath. It was then that he realized that he was crying. It pooled in his mask and ran down his face when he looked up. David pinched his eyes shut and leaned over Heather once more.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear, before moving towards her mouth. He gently kissed her lips and caressed her cheek.

Upon hearing the voices of the EMS coming closer to them, he pinched her nose once more and covered her mouth with his, filling her lungs with air for the last time.

"She isn't breathing," he managed to say, as he stood up and backed away from the scene. One immediately placed a mask over her mouth and nose and began to squeeze the bag.

"We have blood loss here!" he heard an EMS shout as a stretcher was rushed over. "Possible head trauma."

Batman watched from the shadows as the scene played out and the two ambulances rushed away from the scene, both with their sirens blaring. He turned to see his son standing behind him a few meters away with his back towards the scene and his hands on the back of his neck. He watched, seeing David's shoulders rise and fall erratically when Commissioner Gordon approached Batman.

He was about to speak until he saw David standing a few meters further in the shadows, his mask on the ground at his feet. A deep sense of loss washed over Gordon as he watched the young man grieve quietly in front of him.

"How are your men?" Batman asked softly, catching Gordon's attention. David heard Batman's voice and took a deep breath before bending over and picked up his mask. He put it on as the two other men continued their conversation and then walked up to them to join them.

Gordon rubbed the end of his nose and nodded, thankful for the question. "Apart from some smoke inhalation and minor wounds, they'll be fine. Only one ended up with a broken ankle. I'll let you know when we find Reese."

He looked to David and gave a small sympathetic smile before turning back to walk back towards the flashing lights of the squad cars.

* * *

The ride back to the cave was quiet. David sat quietly beside Batman and stared straight out the window as the tumbler swerved through the city streets and made it's way back to the Palisades. Batman was concerned for the young man. He knew that David was sensitive to feelings, a trait that he no doubt had picked up from Olivia. Knowing that he was holding back worried him.

As the tumbler came to a resting position in the cave, Batman turned to David and was met with his back as he climbed out of the massive vehicle. Stoically, David pulled off pieces of armour from his body and let it fall to the ground as he walked until he came to sit in a chair by the work bench. Batman pulled off his mask, seeing his own reflection from many years earlier when he mourned the loss of Rachel Dawes.

Bruce mentally brought himself back to that time in his life, trying to recount things that Alfred may have said to make him feel better or tried to do to ease the situation. Taking a deep breath, he walked slowly up behind David as the young man began to dive himself into work. He picked up a small screwdriver and a mechanical device that Bruce had been working on for months. In fact, he hadn't touched it in months.

_He is more like me than I thought._

"David..."

"I don't want to talk," he quickly replied.

"I was going to ask if you'd like to come to the hospital with me and see how your mother is doing," Bruce suggested, softly. "I'm certain that Alison and Alfred are concerned."

David pinched his eyes shut. "And what am I going to tell them? That I failed?"

"You didn't fail."

David tossed the precision screwdriver onto the table.

"Didn't fail? She's dead!"

"She isn't dead," Bruce reminded him. "Her heart was still beating when she left. She is still alive."

"Barely!" David exclaimed, feeling the tears come back to his eyes as he stood up from the table to face Bruce. He held his hands up in front of his face and looked at them. "I had her right in front of me, alive and then she stopped breathing. I tried..." He paused, as the tears began to roll down his cheek at his next thought. "I was going to marry her. I loved her."

Bruce reached out and attempted to put his hand on David's shoulder when the young man abruptly turned and threw a punch into the table, causing nearly every instrument and piece of small machinery to fall to the floor. He fell to his knees and put his hands to his head as a sob shook through his body. Bruce, knowing too well that sorrow, put his arm around his sons shoulder and leaned in towards his ear.

"I'm going to tell you something that your grandfather told me, Alfred once told me and I'm sure that I've told you many times in your life," he said, hearing David's sobs subside as his father's voice spoke calmly into his ear. "Why do we fall?"

David shook his head, knowing full well the answer as he had heard that question asked many times in his childhood and youth. He ran a hand over his face.

"I don't know how to pick myself back up from this," he admitted, catching a sob in his throat. "How can I get on with their life when part of me is missing?"

"It's not easy," Bruce replied. "But you'll learn to pick up the pieces. And part of that comes with closure." He paused, squeezing David's shoulder. "Let's go to the hospital and check on both your Mom and your fiancé."

David nodded, taking deep breaths as he stood up to look into Bruce's face.

"Thank you," David said softly. Bruce put his arms around David and hugged him.

"And I am proud of you," he said, as he lightly squeezed him before releasing the young man.

* * *

"And you said that they left to go get some food for Heather," Olivia said, as a nurse took her blood pressure and checked her vitals. She was trying to find the meaning of these code words in her mind.

She had woken up less than a half hour after David and Bruce had left and she was asking over and over for details in the location of her husband and son. But having a nurse or doctor constantly in the room of one of their primary patients proved difficult for Alfred to relay the story accurately.

"Yes, she ran into a problem," Alfred replied, glancing at the nurse and trying to choose his words carefully. "She needed them to pick something up for her."

Olivia shook her head, trying to venture what he was trying to tell her. "Both of them?"

Alfred nodded. "It was very urgent."

"Will she be all right with what she has until they get there?"

"I'm certain that things will work out," Alfred replied. "I haven't heard back from either Master Bruce or Master David."

Olivia sighed and smiled sweetly at the doctor beside her. "I'm sorry but could you do this later?"

The nurse glanced at the doctor who nodded to her. "Yes ma'am."

Alfred and Olivia watched the doctor and nurse leave the room and Olivia turned to the older man the moment that the door snapped shut.

"Now, what is going on?"

Alfred explained the situation as he knew it until they heard the door open once again as Alison walked through the door and shut it behind her. Her face was pale.

"I was downstairs taking a walk and I overheard the news talking about an explosion," she said.

Alfred walked over to the television and turned it on. An image appeared on the screen from an aerial shot of a large building engulfed in flames. He quickly turned it up, hearing part of the reporters voice.

_"...and we have yet to hear from police if this was arson or if there are even any fatalities within the blaze, but from accounts, people are saying that there was a blast indicating a possible bomb has started the fire. Commissioner Gordon was on site but wasn't available for questioning."_

The video footage included shots of ambulances quickly leaving the area and a dozen squad cars with their lights on.

"My God," Alfred breathed, in awe of the extent of the carnage on the screen.

Olivia held her hand out to Alison. "Give me your phone."

The young girl quickly complied and handed the cell phone to her Mom. She dialed the number that would bring her directly to Bruce and waited for him to answer. Every second felt like an eternity until she finally heard his voice.

"Bruce!

"_Olivia! You're awake? Are you all right?"_

She smiled. "I'm fine. Where are you?"

_"In the elevator on our way up to see you_," he replied. _"Reception in the hospital isn't the best."_

"David is with you?"

"_Yes, we're both fine._"

She let out a sigh.

_"I'll see you in a minute."_

Olivia hung up the phone and handed it back to Alison.

* * *

Bruce and David walked out of the elevator and onto the floor of the secured wing of the hospital where Olivia. Bruce had a renewed energy once he heard his wife's voice. He paused at the nurses station and glanced over at David before speaking to the nurse sitting behind the desk. She stood up when she saw Bruce at her desk.

"Mr. Wayne," she said, happily. "You're wife is awake and doing well."

Bruce smiled. "That's good to hear, but I need a favour. Two ambulances came in probably within the past hour or so. Could you let me know the status of one of the women that came in?"

The nurses smile faded. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne. I can't divulge information like that unless you're next of kin. Confidentiality and all that. I'm sure that you would understand."

"That woman is my future daughter-in-law," he said, softly. "I'd like to know how she is."

The nurse looked past him at David as he walked further down the hall towards Olivia's room. With a small sigh, she leaned over and looked at her computer, entering information.

"I'll see what I can do," she said.

Bruce nodded before he walked down the hall. When he opened the door, he smiled seeing Olivia sitting partially reclined. She caught his eye and felt tears come to them. In three quick strides, he covered the distance between them and put his arms around her and kissed her. After a minute, he pulled back and looked into her face.

"How are you feeling?"

"Sore," she replied. "But nothing that I can't manage."

She looked past Bruce at David as he stood by the window. He hadn't said a word when he walked in and had merely gave his Mom a quick hug before moving out of the way for Bruce. Bruce noticed her concern just as a they heard a knock on the door. Alfred opened the door and the same nurse that Bruce had spoke to earlier walked in, holding an iPad in her hand.

"I have that information for you, Mr. Wayne," she said, glancing at the other occupants of the room. "There were two women who came in, both with injuries which included blood loss, dust and smoke inhalation but without any identification on either of them, we're not certain whom you're interested in knowing the status of. Unfortunately, one had passed away prior to arrival to the hospital and there wasn't anything we could do and the other is finishing up in surgery at the moment."

Bruce glanced over at David's back as he stood looking out the window. The man barely made a move.

"Could you please find out who is in surgery?"

"She has two tattoo's," David said softly from the window. "A butterfly on her lower back and a smaller one on the right side of her chest." He turned touching his own chest as he spoke. His eyes were red and he looked exhausted.

The nurse seemed stunned hearing him speak, but nevertheless, she looked down at the iPad, sending the information down to the surgical room. A moment later, it chimed and the nurse nodded.

"They're saying that the woman in surgery does have a small tattoo on her chest," she said. "They can check the one on her back in about 15 minutes when they're out of surgery."

"That's fine," Bruce said, watching David turn back around. "Her name is Heather Tamarack. She's important to this family. Could you have her brought up to this floor after surgery?"

The nurse nodded.

"Thank you," Olivia said, as the young woman left the room. Finally, David let out the breath that he was holding.

"Wonderful news sir," Alfred said with a smile, placing a hand on David's shoulder.

Not willing himself to say anything in fear that he would break down like he had in the cave, he simply placed his hand over the older man's and nodded.

* * *

The beeping.

And the talking.

It was quiet at first, almost distant. But it got louder with each passing second until Heather could hear it right beside her.

A movement flashed over her eyes as she strained to open them. She was just so tired and she fought that feeling, wanting to see where she was. She swallowed and feeling the gritty feeling in her throat, she moaned and grimaced. Heather felt a caress over her forehead and down her cheek.

"Heather?"

She opened her eyes at the sound of the voice and saw a familiar face. David.

"You're okay," he said. "You're in the hospital."

Her mind flashed through the series of events. "How...? Kate?"

He shook his head, gently taking her hand being careful to not disturb the IV line by her wrist. "I'm sorry, but Kate didn't make it."

Heather pinched her eyes shut hearing the new revelation as she began to cry. "No..." she whimpered.

"You nearly died yourself," David said, placing a kiss on her hand. "I thought I lost you. I was so certain that I lost you."

She opened her eyes more, taking in the room as the groggy feeling began to subside. She glanced down at her leg, seeing it slightly elevated with it tightly wrapped up, only her painted toes exposed. David followed her eyes to her leg.

"It looks worse than it is," he said. "A bullet did some damage but didn't break your femur. The doctor said that the surrounding muscle should heal well and you'll be able to put some weight on it after the swelling goes down but you're going to be doing some physical therapy for the next 3 months or so to strengthen it."

Heather watched his eyes as he spoke.

"Why don't you trust me?"

David turned back to her at the sudden change of subject. "I'm sorry?"

"You don't trust me."

"Why do you say that?"

"You've been keeping something from me."

"I have?"

Heather nodded.

"I know that it was you and your father who found me and Kate in the warehouse," she said, looking him straight in the eyes. She saw them waver slightly as she spoke. She reached out and touched his face.

David said nothing, which elicited a soft sigh from Heather. "Are you going to tell me the truth or do I have to ask you?"

He looked up at her eyes, pleading to know the truth about the man she loved.

"You're right," he said softly. "I have been keeping things from you." He paused, looking down at the blanket that covered her body; anything but in her eyes. He was afraid of what he might see; fear, doubt, shock, anger. He kept his eyes trained on the blanket as he spoke. "I was there the night at the store, and when you were trapped with Alison and again tonight."

"You weren't alone," she added. She paused as it hit her. The gun shot wound, the bruises, Coleman Reese, Wayne Enterprises. It all made sense.

"Your Dad," she stated, rather than asked. "Mr. Wayne is..."

The door suddenly opened as the visitors knocked on the door. Two heads quickly appeared as a smile once again appeared on Heather's face.

"Mom! Dad!"

Linda and George Tamarack rushed into the room, as David stepped back from the bed, giving her parents room to greet their daughter.

"We came as soon as Bruce called us," Linda said, motherly running her hands along Heather's face and kissed her cheeks as George sat down on the other side of the bed holding a bouquet of daisies.

"For you, my dear," he said lovingly as he placed them on the table beside the bed.

"They're beautiful, Dad," Heather said, beaming. "Thank you."

David backed up from the scene and headed towards the door.

"Oh, David, honey," Linda said, as she stood back up, walking over to him to give him a hug. "I'm sorry. We never said hello to you."

George stood up, holding out his hand towards David who promptly shook it.

"I hear that there is some good news," Linda said, with a twinkle in her eye. She glanced down to Heather and back to David. "Your Mom and Dad told us about your engagement."

David smiled, looking over at Heather and shrugged. "I guess with all of this excitement, announcing it had been put onto the back burner."

"David and I are going to have to discuss some details further before we set anything," she said, looking plainly at David. He felt a pit grow in his stomach as she said those words.

"Of course," George said. "You need to heal up and get your energy back before we have a wedding."

"Right," Heather said with a smile, although David knew that physical therapy wasn't the details that she was implying.

* * *

**A/N Yup, I'm back and hit you with a long chapter. I know the direction I'm going with this now and will probably wrap it up in the next few chapters. Please be gentle with the reviews...I've been out of writing for nearly 2 years so I'm sure to be rusty. I even had to go back and read this story in order to know details that I tossed in earlier on in and I can't tell you how many times I cringed as I originally wrote it quickly. Hopefully I get back into the swing of things sooner than later...**


	15. Chapter 15

2 Weeks later

Wayne Manor was filled with flowers. Some were delivered especially for Olivia as get-well gifts while others had been brought in memory of Kate's memorial that was being held at Wayne Manor. Her parents opted for a quiet, family-only grave side service for the funeral but were honoured when Bruce Wayne offered the house as a location for a memorial where her friends and co-workers could come and celebrate Kate's life. Olivia was glad to be back home a few days prior but with orders from the doctor to take it easy. She spent those days organizing and planning for the memorial all from the comfort of her bed or the couch. Kate's parents were beyond humbled at the graciousness of everyone who attended.

David stood back against the wall of the hall, champagne in hand as he listened to the music playing softly and watched the trays of food pass by him. A few people passed by him, and he nodded a greeting and smiled to a few people whom he recognized.

This wasn't the sort of affair that Wayne manor was used to. The atmosphere was sombre. There was no laughter and everyone was dressed in dark colours. For an event to celebrate someone's life, it certainly resembled that of death. Heather would always know how to cheer him up in the most sombre of situations.

_Where was she?_ he wondered.

He knew that she wouldn't have wanted to miss the memorial after missing the funeral. She had begged and had been on the verge of bribing the doctor into letting her out early and was a little disappointed when the family had decided to make it the funeral for family only. This memorial could have easily been for Heather and David knew it.

Olivia looked over her shoulder to where David stood and sighed. Gently, she trailed her fingers up and down along the back of Bruce's suit coat as he spoke with one of the guests. As the conversation ended and the guests moved away, he turned towards her.

"Getting tired?" he asked, concerned and fully aware that she was still healing. "I can find a place for you to sit."

She smiled and shook her head before looking back towards David as he took another sip of champagne. Bruce followed her eyes. The young man was alone, taking far too many sips from his glass as far as Bruce was concerned.

"Heather's not here?" he asked, glancing around the room.

"Not that I have seen." She paused, taking his arm that he offered. "They haven't spoken for more than a few minutes since the hospital."

"He told her," Bruce said, turning towards her. "He has to figure out a way to make things work between them and...you know."

"She wouldn't miss it," Olivia whispered loud enough for only Bruce to hear.

Olivia turned her head towards where David once stood, seeing the spot was unoccupied. Wherever he had disappeared to, she hoped that he would find Heather and put things right.

* * *

Heather shifted her weight to her good leg and rested the cane against the counter before sitting down on the bar stool. She wiggled on the chair, tucking her skirt under herself as best as she could.

"You know, Miss," Alfred said, busying himself over the many plates of various types of finger desserts that littered the countertops. He passed a tray to a server as they came into the kitchen. "You cannot hide in here all evening."

"I'm not hiding. I'm just tired of explaining what happened to me and then watch the horrified looks on people's faces as I tell them," she stated.

"Master David has been waiting for you out there," Alfred stated, rinsing a dish cloth under the running water.

"He's going to have to wait a little while longer then," she said, reaching for a finger dessert on one of the trays in front of her. "Besides, he's not in a rush to talk about anything so why make matters worse and talk about nothing while ignoring the big, black elephant in the room."

He looked up at her for a moment, hearing the anger in the words.

"He hasn't spoken to you yet?"

Heather snorted, chewing on the dessert. "If he had, I doubt that I'd be in this kitchen, stuffing myself up with sweets like I have been for the past 2 weeks. I wouldn't be worrying and thinking about that big elephant that he is not willing or is afraid of talking about."

She sighed.

"I've given him time, and space to talk about it with me but every time I try to bring up the subject, he changes it on me! I don't want to say it but I'm seriously starting to have second thoughts."

Alfred said nothing but merely listened to the young woman's concerns. He was about to speak when a light tap was heard at the door and a man poked his head into the kitchen.

"Excuse me, Mr. Pennyworth," he said. "We'd like some authorization to open up another case of wine. I believe it's the Colio 77's or it may the 79's."

He nodded. "I'll be there in a moment.

The man closed the door.

"Miss Heather," Alfred began, causing her to look back up at him. "You must talk to him."

She gave him a weak smile before he walked out of the room. If Alfred could send a mental reprimanding slap to the back of David's head, he would. That boy needed some sense knocked into him.

* * *

The room was packed. Standing room only. The ushers had to move a portion of the standing flower arrangements out into the parlour to make room for more people. Heather was impressed to see how many people knew Kate. She sat alone at a round table adorned with flowers and wine glasses while Kate's mother spoke some words from the podium, choking back some tears a few times as she made his way through what she wanted to say. A few sniffs and sounds of someone blowing their nose was occasionally heard. It was very casual; just how Kate would've liked it. No large group of people sitting in the hall, hearing anecdote upon anecdote from a cousin or uncle. Just her parents; the people who meant the world to Kate, and perhaps knew her best.

Soft applause and then conversations began once again as Mrs. Watson concluded her short speech in Kate's honour. Heather turned to the wine glass beside her and took a sip just as she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She looked up just as Olivia Wayne sat down in an empty seat beside her.

"How are you doing?" Olivia asked.

"Sore," Heather replied, shifting her weight slightly and wincing as she did. "I'm starting to think that coming out tonight over did it for me. I haven't walked around this much since before the accident." She paused for a moment before looking up at Mrs. Wayne. "How about you?"

Olivia smiled. "I'm managing. I just need to remind myself to take it easy. Mr. Wayne has been following me around all evening ensuring that I rest when I can." She looked around the room, trying to find Bruce. "But I think he went off somewhere on his own."

Heather chuckled looking around, before turning her attention back to Olivia. "I want to thank you for letting me stay at your hotel suite."

"Are you planning on returning to the house?"

Heather shook her head. "I have walked in there only one other time since everything that happened and I had to get out. I can't stay there. My Mom and Dad picked up all of my things and brought them to the suite. I'll pay you back once I find a place and get working at the hospital again."

Olivia shook her head, trying to interrupt Heather as she spoke. "No, no. There's no need. Stay there as long as you need. And don't worry about paying us back. You're family." She paused for a moment, a proud smile coming to her face. "We're honoured to have you become our daughter-in-law."

Heather let out a breath and looked down. "About that..." she said.

Olivia nodded. "I almost made the biggest mistake of my life when I fell in love with Mr. Wayne. I ran away. I knew everything about him and it scared the crap out of me. But what scared me more was the fact that I would miss out on a life with him. I can honestly say that being married to Bruce Wayne hasn't been a walk in the park, but I would never have changed a thing."

"It's not so much everything that encompasses a marriage with David that scares me, but it's the fact that he won't let me in," Heather said softly. "It makes me wonder if he's second guessing this as much as I am."

* * *

The room and Wayne manor was nearly empty of the guests. Only a few lingered on, having quiet conversations as they slowly made their way out the door. Heather walked slowly over to the large windows overlooking the gardens. The path lights lit up the yard in the dark of the night, making them appear as fireflies.

"Beautiful night."

Heather glanced over at the reflection in the glass, seeing David's face. His tie was loosened and the top button of his dress shirt was undone.

"Where have you been?" she asked, her voice wavering between curiosity and anger.

"I've been here all night."

She turned swiftly; too swiftly she quickly realized and she bit her tongue, her pain coming out in anger. "Bull shit. I've been sitting here all evening, waiting and looking for you. Your mother even sent your Dad to look for you!"

"I know," David replied, calmly. "He found me. I was outside, thinking."

"This whole time?"

David shrugged. "Well, maybe not the whole time, but for a good portion of it I was. I needed to think about some things and my Dad helped reaffirm and clear some things up."

"Such as?"

David smiled and reached for her free hand. "That I love you more than anything in this world and I would give my life if it meant keeping you safe." He gently kissed her hand.

"The reason why I didn't come visit you in the hospital as much as I should have was because I was feeling guilty for allowing you to get hurt," he admitted. He sensed that she was about to speak and instead he quickly added, "And I know it wasn't my fault but knowing that I couldn't do anything to help you frustrated me beyond anything I've ever felt. I didn't know how to talk to you about it, especially in light of what I've decided to do with my life."

"What are you talking about, David?"

The young man looked down at his black designer shoes nervously. He felt a hand suddenly in his and he looked up, catching Heather's eye.

"Just like I'm working with Mr. Fox for the next few months before taking over as CEO of Wayne Enterprises at the end of the quarter, I'd also be working with Batman until he can no longer physically handle it, and at that time, I'd take over."

"Take over?"

"I'd replace him."

She nodded. "That's what I assumed you meant."

David studied her face, trying to gauge her emotions and thoughts. Finally, she smiled. "I support you."

"What?" David was genuinely shocked and Heather couldn't help but giggle. She dropped her cane and put her arms up around his neck, holding onto him for balance.

"If this is something that you want to do, then I support you," she restated. "I love you."

He leaned in and gently kissed her lips before resting his forehead against hers. "I love you too."

* * *

18 months later

There was a unfamiliar chill in the air that woke her up.

Heather rolled over, feeling the coolness of the sheets in the unoccupied space in the bed beside her. She closed her eyes until she felt the wind hit her face once again. Lifting her head slightly off the pillow, she looked towards the large patio door and saw the light curtain blowing in the night breeze. Sighing, she sat up and saw the clock flashing 2:13.

She tried to think of whether she had forgotten to close it or if David had left it open before he left. She stood up and walked briskly across the cool hardwood floor of the bedroom, rubbing her arms against the winter air that brushed her skin. Quickly, she closed the door and locked it before quickly turning and bumping into a large form. Heather nearly fell backward but felt a steady hand catch her behind her back as she gasped.

"David!" she exclaimed, slapping her hand against his black kevlar chest. "Don't do that to me!"

She saw a smile appear beneath his masked eyes. "Sorry."

Her surprise turned to concern as she looked at him from head to toe. He was a mirror image to Batman except he had decided earlier on to forgo having his entire head covered by a cowl and opted for just a mask over his eyes.

Heather reached up and brushed her hand through his hair. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he said softly.

Heather was confused. "What are you doing here then? I wasn't expecting you for another 2 hours at least."

He reached down for her hands and smiled mischievously. "I got the rest of the night off."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I was surprised as you were when Dad told me to go straight home instead of back to the cave," David said, pulling the mask off from his face. "He said that you had something to tell me."

Heather glanced at the window, knowing exactly what her father-in-law was trying to do. "I hope no one saw you."

He shook his head. "I was careful."

A smile came to his face as he wrapped his arms around Heather. She felt the hard, cold kevlar against her skin, but she didn't care. It wasn't very often that David returned the to penthouse as Nightwing. "I think this was part of Dad's gift for our anniversary."

Heather reached up and brushed her hands against David's cheeks. "Happy anniversary." She leaned forward and kissed his lips, and felt him pull her closer into him. She pushed him back when she felt him attempt to deepen the kiss.

"Hold on," she said, placing a hand against his chest. He let her go and watched as she walked over to the closet. She pulled out an envelope and walked back towards him. "I think this is what your Dad was wanting me to give to you. I didn't know whether I should give it to you today or if I should have waited."

He took the envelope and pulled off his gloves to open it. Heather sat down on the edge of the bed as he opened it. He smiled knowingly as he pulled out the anniversary card. His smile faded as he opened the rest of the card.

He stared back up at Heather. "You...? You're pregnant?"

She nodded. "Surprised?"

"A little," he said, his mind still reeling over the news. He sat down beside her, and she placed her head on his shoulder and an arm around his waist.

"I know this wasn't part of our plan," she began. "But we can make it work out. I'm nearly done my internship and I can always take a break from it before going back to finish up and take my exam. Allison has already said she'd be willing to babysit anytime and your Mom was more than willing to help."

David sat up straight. "They know?"

_Damn._

"Yeah," she said, wincing. "It was actually your Mom who suspected last week when I was wondering what was going on with me. She casually stated that it was how she felt when she was pregnant with you. Alfred, Allison and your Dad just happened to be in the room at the time."

"That's why Batman sent me home," David said, the revelation hitting him. "I knew he was up to something that was not part of any type of training or routine."

_A baby. _The thought made his heart skip a beat.

He stood up, his hand on his head, still trying to get over the shock. "Wow."

"Are you happy?"

He turned back to Heather, seeing the concern on her face.

"Of course I am," he said, smiling, before looking down at Heather's stomach, revealing no indication of the life that was growing inside her. "It's amazing." He grabbed her hands and pulled her up to stand. "I love you so much. This is the best anniversary present ever."

She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing his lips once again.

Beep...beep...beep...

David moaned inwardly hearing the beeping sound coming from behind Heather. She smiled hearing it, knowing who it was.

He cursed softly after breaking the kiss and pulled his arms back, looking down at his wrist. He pressed a button. "Go ahead."

"_Nightwing_, s_orry to interrupt.._." Batman began.

"Yeah, I thought I had the rest of the night off."

"_Plans have changed. I'll need some extra hands. Meet me at the docks on the east side of the Narrows_." He paused for a moment. _"I'll make it up to you both. Babysitting perhaps."_

David chuckled.

"There is no way that my child is going to be babysat by Batman," David said, with a smile. "Grandpa maybe."

He was certain that he heard Batman stifle a laugh over the 2-way communicator.

"I'll be there in ten," he finally said, looking at Heather.

"_Thank your wife for me and congratulations_," Batman finally said before closing the connection.

Heather picked up the mask and gloves off the bed and held them out towards David.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, taking the items from her. To his surprise, she was smiling.

She shook her head. "This is who you are. There will be other nights."

David smiled, placing the mask over his face before leaning down to kiss her once more and placed a gentle hand over her stomach. "How did I ever get so lucky to marry you?"

Heather smirked. Seeing her husband standing in front of her with tight black kevlar was enough to give her some ideas. When she caught his eye, he had a curious smile on his face. She shook her head. "Get out of here before I change my mind."

"Are you sure you'd like me to go?" he asked, mischievously.

Heather turned and opened the french door to the balcony with a smile. "Batman is waiting. Go!"

"I'm going, I'm going. But I will be back soon."

With that he ran out the door. He jumped up and off the balcony, spreading his arms to the side as he dove into the air. He caught the wind beneath the cape that opened under his arms and he soared into the sky. Heather watched and put a protective hand over her stomach as she watched her husband disappear into the night.

* * *

A/N - Tadaaaa! And there you have it. I thought I'd take more chapters than this to finish it up, but I managed to do it in 1. What did you think? So, the cycle continues. Thank you to all my readers that have followed this since the first chapter of Thicker Than Water and to those who came along throughout the journey. It was your comments that kept me going and brought me back. :)


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